She Belongs to Me
by helloworld24
Summary: Reid has been struggling and those around him are doing their best to help, but will he finally crack under pressure when someone close to him is taken by the serial killer who has the whole city paralyzed with fear?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** It's been a while since I posted anything and I've had this idea in my head for a long time now. It will make more sense if you read my first story before this but it's not completely necessary. I'm not sure how I feel about it… If it doesn't feel right I'll probably scrap the story, but I'll need your input obviously. Let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 1**

 _Heart racing. Blood pounding in her ears. Out of breath._

 _Olivia was running her usual path through the woods for her daily exercise. She was an avid runner – she didn't want to be that hypocrite doctor that cared for others' health and let own self go. Her music up on full volume, she was oblivious to all sounds of the outside. These woods were thick and confusing for those who didn't know their way around them, but she'd been running them for years. Olivia rounded the corner of a thick mass of tall trees and brush and collided full on with a domineering figure running the other direction._

 _Next thing she knew she was flat on her back in the woods, looking up into the eyes of the man who had run her down. Full of concern, his deep brown eyes looked her up and down, trying to assess the damage he'd done. He was mouthing something that she couldn't hear, and she finally pulled her earbuds out in time to realize that he was apologizing profusely to her._

 _"Are you alright? Oh god I'm so sorry. I didn't even think anybody else knew about this path. Jeez, are you hurt?" Olivia found herself at a loss for words, still in shock from the collision. He looked like he was desperate to do anything to help her, but at the same time, his hands hovered over her like he was afraid to actually touch her._

 _"What? No no I'm fine – don't worry about it! It was an accident. No worries", she scoffed it off._

 _"Can I help you up?" He asked, tentatively holding his hands out to pull her up. Gratefully, she took them and he helped her to her feet. Now standing, she got a good look at him. He was tall, athletic, and she'd be damned if she said he wasn't a 10 on her scale. A head of dark hair to match his piercing brown eyes, and a light tan that emphasized his good looks, this guy had everything going for him. Dressed in a dark gray shirt that was drenched in sweat and a pair of black basketball shorts, it was obvious that he had been running for quite some time this morning. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face, but it took nothing away from his good looks. Olivia was staring into eyes without even realizing, but she found that she couldn't look away._

 _"What's a girl like you doing running these woods anyways? It's dangerous out here" he said, equally entranced by her green eyes. He had just the slightest hint of a southern accent in his voice._

 _"I always run this course. Every day. How is it that I've never run into you before?" Olivia cocked her head to the side in a questioning look._

 _"I'm a night runner, but I gotta work late tonight so I figured I'd change up my schedule and go for a morning run beforehand." He hesitated, looking her up and down. Nervously, he laughed and said "I guess it was a good choice", and he smiled shyly. "I'm John"_

 _"Olivia… But everyone just calls me Liv"_

 _Olivia felt her heart skip a beat and was surprised by it – she hadn't felt that since… High school. But it didn't matter because this guy was making her feel all kinds of high school girl crush. She found herself smiling stupidly as they walked the path together in the direction she was originally headed._

 _"That's a beautiful name." He stopped, suddenly so unsure of himself. "So uh… Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked. "I feel real bad knocking you over like that. 'Bout near flattened you"_

 _"It's fine," she laughed. "Besides, I think I can take care of myself."_

 _"You sure? You don't need anything? Like an ice pack… or a dozen roses?" He turned and winked at her and she found herself laughing in a way she hadn't in years._

 _"Nah, flowers suck. But I could go for a coffee if you really want to make it up to me. I think you bruised my pride a little bit there when you took me down"_

 _"Coffee it is then," John smiled. "Wait… Did you say that flowers suck? What kind of girl are you anyways?"_

 _"The kind that hates flowers", she said. "Why buy a girl flowers when all they're going to do is die in a week? What does that say about the sentiment behind it? It's a waste – but nothing lasts forever, I guess, does it?"._

 _John nodded, deep in thought as they continued their walk back into town. This girl was definitely worth getting to know. Walking back, the two talked, without a single second of a lull in conversation. They flirted with each other effortlessly, as if it was their native language. Olivia smiled to herself, her mind racing with a million thoughts all centered on this guy – why he made her feel so good, and why she literally couldn't stop smiling with him by her side._

A sickeningly loud thunder clap far off in the distance jumpstarted Olivia's heart rate. Her eyes flew open, and it was then that she realized she had been lost in a dream. She silently cursed the storm outside for waking her up, but she was soon over it as the memory from the dream danced in her mind. She often had that same dream – the day she met John - over and over again, but it never grew old for her; it never failed to make her smile.

Lying in bed, she turned over to wrap her arm around her husband. When her hand hit nothing but the mattress, she sighed. Jonathan had gone on a business trip to attend a three-day conference in Connecticut. He had been gone for two days now and wouldn't be back for another three. They had been married for about a year and half now, but the love they shared was something out of a fairytale – it had only been two days but she missed him more than anything. He was her everything and she was his. Exhaling slowly, she pulled his pillow closer to her so that she could at the very least smell him, burying her nose deep in the fabric, hoping that the scent would allow her to slip back into the dream she had been woken up from. Smiling contentedly, she breathed in deeply and allowed her mind to wander.

She listened to the sound of the pouring rain outside and the thunder that rolled quietly and she wondered if the storm was coming to a break. It was supposed to be an ugly week of rain and storms, which didn't help Olivia's current mood in the slightest. Maybe she would see if her brother was busy this week. It had been awhile since she and Spence had gotten one-on-one time and now seemed as good a time as ever. She missed him and as much as she made an effort to keep up with what was going on in his life, she knew that it would be better to do it face to face. Her brother had been struggling recently – after having kicked his awful drug habit for the second time, a series of particularly gruesome cases had struck a nerve and his cravings had started to get the better of him.

Olivia had decided she would call her little brother when she got up that morning and see what he was up to. She was growing increasingly worried about him, knowing that he was suffering – he couldn't sleep, and when he did, he had debilitating nightmares. He was having trouble eating, focusing on their cases, and suffering from terrible headaches (none of which he would admit to, but it was painfully obvious to those around him), and Olivia worried that her brother was slipping into a depression not uncommon for addicts who have gotten sober. He had been on edge for a while now and Olivia had been doing everything she could to pull him back.

To add to her list of things to do that morning, she decided she would also call Morgan. She had always heard so much about Derek Morgan from Spencer, but when she had met him for the first time almost a year ago, she instantly took a great liking to him. Morgan had been there for her brother when she couldn't be, and was always keeping a close eye on him the way Olivia would had she had the opportunity. Morgan was a big brother to Spencer, and she appreciated that sentiment more than she could ever explain to him and she could never thank Morgan enough for everything he had done for her and her brother. Whenever Spencer seemed off, Morgan was the first to come to her and the two had grown to be very good friends, bonding over how much they each cared for her brother.

Morgan was well aware of the impending emotional crash – after all, he was the first one to notice that Reid was beginning to slip through the cracks - seeing him slowly deteriorate as the cases grew worse and worse. He was talking more and more to Olivia as the days passed, keeping tabs on Spencer, and making sure he was doing everything he could to help him. Luckily for them, Spence had not tried to push them away, but instead depended on them heavily through his bad days. They were determined to help him through this rough patch, hoping deep in their hearts that this was all it was – and that he would get back to being his normal self again once everything calmed down.

Just then a loud clap of thunder shook the windows – loud enough to mask the sound of the back door being pried open. It snapped Olivia out of her reverie, but she kept her brother in the forefront of her mind as she closed her eyes and decided she needed to catch a few more hours of sleep before work that day.

She was almost asleep when her eyes suddenly flew open for a second time that night. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was definitely wrong. Her heart was racing, ready to beat right out of her chest, and all of her senses became hyper aware. She begged her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but just then, she heard something – no… _someone_ – brush against her side of the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Reid found himself late to work again for the second time that week. Hotch was definitely not going to be happy with him. As far as he knew, they didn't have a case yet, so he was hoping to sneak in to the bullpen without Hotch noticing him from through his office window.

Struggling to sleep yet again, Reid was exhausted by the time he entered the office. Both his sister and Morgan suggested he take some time off – that he was going to make himself sick if he continued the way that he was going. He appreciated the concern, but sitting at home with nothing to do would only make matters worse, and deep down, he knew that Morgan and Liv both knew that too, which is why they didn't push the subject further.

His short hair going in all directions and dark circles under his eyes made it clear to everyone in the office that Reid hadn't slept well in weeks. His dress shirt was wrinkled and his tie was all sorts of messed up. He ran his fingers quickly through his hair and quietly slipped into his seat, trying to ignore the stare from Morgan sitting across from him.

Without saying a word, Morgan pushed a store-bought coffee in Reid's direction. Thankfully, Reid took it and mumbled a quiet "thank you".

"So Kid, how bad is the headache today?"

"I'm fine," Reid said, looking down at the load of files waiting to be finished on his desk.

"That's not what I asked, Reid." Morgan continued to look at Reid with genuine concern.

Reid sighed. "I know. I just… It's not that bad today, I guess", he said leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes for a minute while the dull pain throbbed behind his eyes. His hands trembled as he took a sip of the coffee. "Coffee usually helps a bit"

"And the… you know?" Morgan said in a low voice, ensuring that only Reid had heard what he said.

"They're bad," is all Reid could say about the cravings. He massaged his forehead with his hand and willed his headache to stop. "I just need to sleep. That's all I need." He could feel that he was reaching his breaking point, but was helpless to do anything to stop it. He was so exhausted all the time, but every time he closed his eyes he was plagued by the visions of the last few cases they'd had. Cases involving children were always the worst, and they'd had three in a row – the stress was getting to all of them by now. Reid couldn't stop that one thought that was driving him crazy – he would be able to sleep if he could just get his hands on a small dose. Just enough to let him sleep for a night. Reid was well aware of how useless that would be… drugs were what got him to where he is now, but the addict in his head wouldn't quiet down nonetheless. _Once an addict, always an addict._ He also found that he was continually forgetting to eat, always preoccupied with his thoughts and not even noticing the hours that flew by. Morgan caught on to that from the very beginning, quick to make sure Reid would eat whenever the two were together at work. He had been keeping an extremely close eye on Reid lately.

The thought scared Reid more than anything – he was losing his ability to take care of himself. Forgetting to eat, not sleeping. Liv and Morgan assured him he was just going through a rough time and that it happened to everyone at some point or other, but it never failed to make him think of his mother and how he could so easily imagine himself spiraling down into insanity. After all, he didn't feel that far from it at the moment. He never openly admitted that to Morgan, but sometimes he got the notion that Morgan already knew anyways.

"Hang in there, Pretty Boy. We'll think of something. Just remember – please take it easy", Morgan said, and seeing the look on Reid's face he added, "I know you don't want to hear it, but you look about ready to drop, so even if you can't sleep, maybe you should just take some time to lie down and rest a bit. If you keep burning it at both ends like this, you're going to drive yourself crazy… And sick."

These conversations had become normal between the two – Reid's struggles being an open book between him, Morgan and Olivia. They talked openly about them when they were with him, knowing that his recovery from addiction involved a conscious effort every day, so it was no longer an awkward subject between them. They had been with him through the worst of his withdrawals and every step of the way after that, so there was no use in trying to hide just how badly he really was feeling – the two of them would see right through it.

The other team members had taken notice, but never confronted Reid directly about it. He would sometimes feel their sideways glances at him, or see their worried looks when he would occasionally lose his train of thought in the middle of explaining one of his theories on a case they were working on.

Little did Reid know that Hotch had already approached Morgan one day, and left seemingly satisfied with the promise that Morgan would be watching Reid closely, making sure he didn't overwork himself on a case. Reid knew he had the whole team worried, but there was nothing he could do; it was getting harder and harder to hide just how burned out he was.

"Have you talked to your sister lately?" Morgan asked, not having talked to her for a few days himself and figuring he should reach out at some point soon.

"I talked to her a couple nights ago after we got back from the case in Texas. But I think she's been pretty busy with work so other than that, no", Reid said. He knew Liv and Morgan talked about him all the time but it was what it was – there was nothing he could do about it.

It was almost ten o'clock by the time Reid had gotten started on his files. Morgan would continually glance up at Reid from time to time – never saying anything, but just keeping an eye on him as always. It stopped bothering Reid a long time ago, as he knew that Morgan had every right to be worried about him. Sometimes he was even thankful for the attention; it was nice knowing people cared about him.

Just then, the door to the bullpen swung open and a familiar face appeared. Reid stood up just in time for his brother-in-law to approach him. Instantly, Reid's heart dropped into his stomach, and he knew something was horribly wrong. Everything about John's presence was wrong – he should have been in Connecticut and he _definitely_ should never be here. Jonathan's eyes screamed worry and fear, and when he got to Reid all he could do was confirm Reid's fears that something had happened to his sister.

"Liv's gone", he said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Reid… Kid. Come on, you should sit down".

Reid could hear Morgan's voice in the far distance. He was feeling extremely light-headed yet his heart felt as if it weighed a ton and had fallen down into his stomach. He couldn't bring himself to say anything – he had nothing to say, and even if he did, he wasn't sure that the words would even come out at all. Reid was vaguely aware of being pushed down into a chair, and he continued to stare straight ahead, not comprehending anything that was being said around him.

Liv was gone. How the hell did this happen? She knew how to take care of herself, she should never have been in the way of any danger. What was happening?

Reid desperately tried to shake the dizziness that was enveloping him, and he felt a new hand lightly touch his shoulder. He snapped out of his reverie and realized JJ was standing there over him with a glass of water, holding it out for him to take. He shakily took a sip while she gently rubbed his back. Reid still couldn't find his voice, so he took the time to look around: John was standing right in front of him, looking about as worried as someone could possibly look. Morgan was crouched by Reid's left side, his concerned eyes never leaving Reid for a second. JJ had apparently been walking by when she realized there was clearly an issue between the three men and she had come over to help – she was leaning on his right side.

"Spence, you with us?" she asked lightly. After a few seconds, Reid was able to shift his eyes to meet hers. She, like the others, looked at him with nothing but worry on her face. Reid managed to nod slightly, and now that the daze was clearing, his mind started filling with a million questions. Before he had the chance to ask any, John cut in and began the story.

"Her coworkers got worried because Liv never showed up to work and she never misses work without calling out first. And when she didn't pick up, they called me, asking if I had talked to her at all. When I started to panic after not being able to reach her, one of her coworkers told me he would go over to the house and check things out. That's when he called the police because the back door had been pried open. He had knocked on the front door a few times, and the way that the house is set up, you can see the back door from through the window panes in the front. He could see that someone had clearly gotten in and he immediately called the police. He was afraid to actually go in himself. Then he called me, and I hopped on the first plane out of Connecticut and I came straight here. I got the call from the police on my way to confirm that someone had gotten in and that there was no sign of Liv." He sighed deeply, and finished with "but I knew I couldn't put off telling you and I also couldn't face going to the house without having someone there with me".

All Reid could manage to say after the story was, "How did this happen? Don't you guys have an alarm system? How the hell did he not trip it when he pried the damn door open? Why didn't anyone know what was happening until now? She could have been taken last night… That's way too long of a period of time for us to not know where she was." Reid could feel the panic and anger start to rise in his throat.

"Spencer, I don't know much more than you do right now. The police wouldn't tell me much over the phone. I'm headed over there right now, so come with me and I'm sure they'll have more answers for you."

"I don't know what we're waiting for then. We need to get over there right now", Reid said urgently. His headache was now in full force but he tried to push through it as he got up from the chair and followed his brother-in-law out the door of the Bureau.

It took them only ten minutes to reach the house. It was flooded with policemen, forensic technicians, and detectives. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Reid noted that it was a surprisingly heavy presence for one missing person. He appreciated it, but he was aware that his sister wasn't necessarily an important public figure or someone that would be missed easily.

"Thank you for getting here so quickly", the lead detective on the case was saying to John. Reid was busy looking around and had plenty on his mind at the time that the detective had introduced himself to the guys – Detective Lester?... Larry?... Reid couldn't even be bothered to listen to him when he was talking. His mind was running a million miles an hour, taking in all the surroundings – the back door that was pried open, the open bedroom door that led to the very place that his sister was taken.

"It was pretty nasty outside. It was the perfect cover for a break-in. Olivia probably never even heard him come in," the detective said.

"That doesn't make any sense. I know Liv, she would never go to sleep alone without the alarm on. She's not a paranoid person by any means, but she knows what kind of people are out there," John said. "I don't understand. I talked to her last night before she went to bed. How could this have happened. Spencer, isn't there anything you can do? What about your team, can't they help? I want the best people on this – we've got to find her," John looked pleadingly at Reid for the smallest piece of hope.

"I don't have any jurisdiction. We haven't been invited in", Reid said dejectedly.

"Actually, we have," a voice said behind him. Reid turned around to find JJ and the rest of the team behind her. "The Chief of Police spoke with me on the phone just seconds after you and John walked out the door. This is officially a federal case – Olivia is the fifth woman to go missing in six weeks."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **AN:** **I feel like not much happened in this chapter, but I promise it will get better. This was just information that had to be given, so I'll try to give you something good next chapter.**

"The fifth?" exclaimed John. "What happened to the other four?"

An uncomfortable silence hung over the team. Hotch handed Reid the file on what they had, complete with pictures. Reid held the file close to his chest so John couldn't see it, unsure himself of what was actually inside and knowing that even he didn't want to see it.

Sure, Reid was used to looking at the most graphic pictures and reading the most horrific descriptions of what human beings did to one another, but this was different. He read the file and all he could do was imagine this happening to his sister, and immediately, Reid felt like he was going to throw up.

Reid looked up and said, "Each woman was held for approximately ten days – all were taken from their homes in the middle of the night. Obvious signs of sexual assault," Reid and John both winced at that one. "Deep bruising on the wrists indicates that they were tied up probably the entire time they were held. Each woman was dumped in a secluded area of a local park, again in the middle of the night, ten days after they were taken. It looks like this Unsub has some serious rage."

Reid took a minute to really look at the pictures. Deep bruises and cuts covered the women's bodies, signs that they were beaten repeatedly.

Morgan picked up where Reid left off, "These women were just tossed like trash in the park – no signs of remorse or evidence of him posing the bodies in any way. This Unsub is not only angry with these women… He hates them. Take a look at what he did to the last victim – Jennifer Mayson. The M.E. says a lot of those bruises on her face were postmortem. This isn't just sadism anymore, this guy's beyond pissed off."

"But about what?" JJ asked.

"We'll have to figure that out," Morgan finished.

"Cause of death is manual asphyxiation. Bruises near the mouth indicate that he suffocated them using his hands," Hotch said.

"So we're looking at a power control freak," Rossi deduced. "This guy needs to feel power over these women. What better way to do that than to watch them as you literally smother the life out of them?"

"There's one more thing," JJ said. "Take a look at the women's photos. Not the crime scene photos, but the ones from before…" The damage done to the faces of these women in the crime scene photos were almost unrecognizable as women – the only thing that led them to know these were the women were their bodies. The women were also stripped naked before being unceremoniously tossed behind bushes in the parks.

Reid flipped the pages and looked at the side by side photos for a mere two seconds before he slammed the file shut.

"What is it?" John questioned.

"These women all look the same," Reid said quietly. "All in their late twenties to early thirties, long brown hair, green eyes, athletic…"

"Beautiful," Morgan finished. "Whoever this guy is angry at, I'll put my money on it being someone who looks just like that." He shook his head. "We better get started."

"I already have Garcia checking on any overlap between the women and just doing general background on them… We don't have a lot of information on them yet," Hotch said.

Rossi was already speaking with the head detective on the case, who was explaining to Rossi about how the Unsub found his way into the house. "But that doesn't make any sense," Rossi said shaking his head.

"What is it, Dave?" Hotch asked.

"The police say that the alarm is still on and that the house is still armed. There have been people walking in and out of this house the whole time, the alarm can't be on."

"Here, come with me and take a look," the detective said. The team followed Detective Lassiter to the security panel that was located in the bedroom. The light was still blinking red, which indicated that it was armed and ready. "Same thing with the other women."

The detective left the bedroom and left the team alone so that they had privacy to think.

Reid turned around to find Morgan dialing Garcia's number. "Hey Baby Girl, I need your cyber brain power on this."

"Oh of course, my love. Anything for you,"

"Thanks Mama. Can you look into this house's security system? Is it actually on? Or maybe is it dysfunctional?"

"Umm give me one second…. It says it's armed. It's one of those security systems that's connected to emergency services. As soon as the alarm trips, it automatically alerts authorities, which is becoming all the rage today…"

"Garcia, we're in the house right now, how come the alarm isn't tripping?"

"Hmm, let me check the log and see. Oh no, people were all up in her business. There's a flood of alerts on here – front door, front door, bedroom window, back door, front door… It's nonstop. But it starts with a backdoor breach at 2:37 AM."

"Then what's wrong with this thing if the alarm isn't going off?"

"I'm checking that right—"

"Garcia?" JJ asked, thinking that the call got cut off.

"Oh well this is _not_ good," Garcia came back on the line. "Their system has a block on it – the line to authorities was disabled as well as the sound."

"How would someone manage to do that?" Hotch asked.

"Unfortunately, it's actually extremely easy to do, Sir. All one would have to do is purchase a signal jammer - they range from 50-300 bucks depending on the quality of it. Just turn it on, and you can just stroll into someone's house. But you would have to know the frequency."

"How hard would it be to do that?"

"After some serious Google searches, you could probably do it."

"But he's long gone… Why is her alarm still blocked?"

"Well, my guess would be that the jammer is still here somewhere. He must have left it behind." Garcia said.

"Thanks Garcia," Morgan said, hanging up. "It's time to find that jammer." The team split up and began searching the backyard for any signs of a device that didn't belong.

"Spence, you coming?" JJ asked softly when she realized that he hadn't moved along with everyone else. She'd come back into the room when she didn't see him outside, to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. When he didn't answer her, she got closer. "We're going to find her, you know that right?"

"Yeah… I know," he said, barely audible.

"It's going to be okay," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"People have always said that to me, you know? 'It's going to be okay' – after my father left, after Gideon left, after Emily left… And it was… It was okay, after a while. They were right. But what if this time… It's not okay? What if we don't find her until she ends up in a park like the others?"

"We're not going to let that happen," JJ said, pulling Reid up and into a hug. He held onto her tightly, and she could feel the warm tears on her shoulder and she knew that he couldn't hide his fear anymore – that he was finally breaking. JJ felt her eyes moisten, and with every deep breath Reid took in her arms, she felt her heart break a little bit more. "I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Okay, John. Tell me everything you know," Hotch said. He and John were sitting in the living room, a coffee in each of their hands. "Did Olivia have a routine? Did she frequent the same places a lot?"

John looked down at the cup in his hand and Hotch felt a pang of sadness for the younger man sitting across from him – his grief was genuine. Unsure it seemed of his own voice, John spoke quietly and shakily. "She uh, spends most of her time at the hospital. Much like your team, hers doesn't come home until the case is over. She could be at the hospital for the typical twelve hour shift or she could not come home for three days – it's anything but routine."

"This Unsub knew that you were away – he would never have tried to take her if you had been home."

"You said that none of these women knows who this guy is… Maybe he doesn't know much about Olivia either – maybe it was just dumb luck that he broke in when he did."

"This guy may not know these women personally, but he's not stupid either. He's organized – he plans. He probably stalked her – and you – for some time. While he has one woman, he's already on the lookout for the next one. He has over a week to plan, to dig into your lives and learn who you are. So, other than the hospital, is there any place she routinely goes to?"

"I wouldn't say 'routinely', but there are places she goes to relatively often… The coffee shop a couple blocks down she likes a lot. Liv also likes going to the small bookstore on Vinton Street whenever she finds some free time." Hotch smiled at that one, thinking about the little ways Reid and his sister were alike.

"What about the obvious? Did you notice anybody strange lately? Maybe someone you didn't recognize taking a walk by your house, someone Olivia saw that made her feel uncomfortable? Is that something she would talk to you about?" Hotch asked.

John slowly shook his head, "Liv is independent – if she was worried about someone, she probably wouldn't tell me. She would handle it herself… I'm sorry if I misunderstood, but I'm confused. I thought he was taking these women because they all looked like someone he was angry with. Why are you focusing on someone who would be mad at Olivia only? Couldn't he be angry with any of the other girls or maybe someone he hasn't taken yet?"

"We can't know for sure that Olivia isn't the real target of this Unsub's rage. We just found out that this is a serial case, and I assure you that we will be looking into all potential threats against the victims, but we also can't rule out that Olivia may be the cause of this anger."

John remained quiet, deep in thought and racking his brain in an effort to come up with anybody that might have been in contact with his wife. His thoughts were cut short when a blaring alarm went through the house.

Both men stood up immediately. "That's our security alarm," John exclaimed.

"Someone must have found the jammer," Hotch said over the noise.

"Can anybody turn this thing off!?" yelled the detective. "Or better yet, turn the damn jammer back on!"

John rushed over and entered the security passcode and the alarm went dead. JJ came right inside with a slightly reddened face. "Sorry, I didn't actually think anything of it when I flipped the switch." _Oops_ , she thought to herself. Next to her, Morgan snickered.

"So you found it?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, in the bushes, buried underneath the mulch. It looked recently disturbed so I tried digging."

"Send a picture of that to Garcia, I want her to analyze it – what model it is, the price, where someone could get something like that around here." Hotch ordered.

JJ nodded and headed into another room to call the tech analyst, thankful to excuse herself from being the center of attention.

Hotch turned back to John, who had gone impossibly pale.

"John, are you alright?" Hotch asked.

"He threatened her," John whispered.

"I'm sorry?" Hotch leaned in closer.

"He threatened her," John said a little louder. "About two months ago, Olivia's team had a case that went downhill fast. The guy went into cardiac arrest after being given medication that Liv suggested the team try to use to cure whatever disease they thought he had. They were running out of time and the team agreed it was their best option, so her boss okayed it… They couldn't prove that it was the medication itself that caused the arrest or if it was his disease – either way, they couldn't save him. Well, his brother was in the room the whole and somehow he just knew it was Liv's suggestion for the meds. He blamed her for his brother's death and… He threatened her. He said he would come find her… He said to her "You're mine."

"Did that scare Olivia?"

"Not really. Olivia deals with upset people all the time, people who say things they don't mean because they say it in the moment."

"Well it was important enough for her to tell you about it."

"Only because she felt guilty… Do you think it's him? Do you think he's got her?"

"It's a possibility, but we have a lot of work to do now. Thank you, John," Hotch said, standing up to reconvene with his team.

"Jeffrey Seaver"

The team had met up in one of the spare bedrooms and was on speakerphone with Garcia.

"Two months ago, his brother was admitted under the care of the diagnostics team. Since no formal report was ever made of the threat, I had to narrow it down to the patients who died around that time, which were unfortunately for her team… Three. But Jeffrey Seaver has a history of violence and as a kid, enjoyed, um, medical experiments on squirrels. He works as a stock clerk at a local grocery store."

"Garcia, I want all of his information."

"Already sent," Garcia said, hanging up. The team sat there for a moment, thinking about how likely it was that this was their Unsub.

That night, Reid was forced by the rest of the team to go home and get some sleep. Morgan had accompanied him to make sure that Reid actually got some rest while the rest of the team continued working on several theories.

Morgan hadn't thought it was possible for Reid to look any worse than he had a few days ago, but he had evidently been wrong. Reid looked like death warmed over and Morgan had been afraid to leave his side today in any case that Reid had decided to just collapse. Morgan sat on the couch while Reid slept in his bedroom. He pulled out his phone when it started buzzing in his pocket.

"It's not him," JJ said. "He's not our Unsub."

"Shit," Morgan exclaimed. He was sincerely hoping that Jeffrey had been their Unsub so that they could bring Olivia back home and Reid could finally get some help. He seemed like the perfect suspect… _Too perfect. Too convenient._ Morgan should have known that it's never the first person they suspect, no matter how well they fit the profile – if it were, anybody could do the jobs that he and his team do.

"Jeffrey works night crew at a local grocery store. Cameras and coworkers confirmed his whereabouts at the time Olivia was taken. He wasn't very sympathetic towards our cause, but unfortunately, he's not our Unsub," JJ finished.

"Alright, back to square one," Morgan said dejectedly. In the other room, Morgan heard a muffled cry, and he pushed himself off the couch. "I gotta go, JJ. Call me back if you find another lead," and Morgan hung up the phone. Before even opening the bedroom door, Morgan already knew what he was going to find.

Reid hadn't been asleep for more than a half hour and he was already violently tossing and turning on the bed, thrashing around as if trying to get away from an invisible attacker. His hands kept clenching and desperately grabbing at the sheets underneath him while he continued to whimper with tears rolling down his face.

Morgan took in his surroundings, allowing the scene to hit him right in the heart before he found himself able to move to Reid's side. Morgan felt himself swell with profound guilt – misguided guilt, he knew. He thought about all the nights Reid must suffer like this and wake up to find nobody there to comfort him. Morgan wished he could always be there, but he knew that was impossible.

Reid was crying out and begging, using words that Morgan couldn't quite make out. He gently shook Reid, trying to wake him up without frightening him even more. Reid began to fitfully push Morgan back, so Morgan grabbed him by the arms and shook with a little more force.

"Reid, man, you have to wake up." Morgan tried. "Reid!"

Finally, Morgan was able to jerk the younger man awake. For a split second, the look in Reid's eyes told Morgan that Reid was terrified and didn't know where he was.

"It's alright, Reid. You're safe. I'm here with you." It took Reid a minute to gather his surroundings, and then he scrambled up into a sitting position, immediately embarrassed at what Morgan must have seen. He quickly tried to wipe the tears from his face, repeatedly telling Morgan that he was fine.

"Tell me what happened. It's always good to talk about it," Morgan tried.

"I don't want to talk about it…" Reid said quietly. "I really don't."

"This is why you're so sick, Reid. You keep all of this stuff bottled up and you are one nightmare away from a complete breakdown."

Ignoring Morgan's comment, Reid said, "You don't need to stay here. I'm fine here by myself."

"I'm not leaving, Kid."

"Did they find Jeffrey?" Reid changed the subject.

Morgan sighed, "It's not him."

Reid just sat there and looked at his hands, concern washing over his face. He put his head in his hands and sat like that for a while until slowly sitting back upright. Morgan patiently sat watching him, silently worrying about how badly Reid was looking at the moment.

 _God I really wish Olivia was here right now,_ Morgan thought. As soon as Olivia went missing, Morgan knew it was his responsibility now to watch over Reid even more than he already had been, but that thought scared him.

Reid got up and went into the bathroom, turning around to only say, "I'm fine Morgan. Go back out to the couch."

Morgan knew he wouldn't get anywhere with Reid tonight, so he obeyed his friend's wishes and stepped outside of the bedroom. Sleep would not come easily for either of them that night.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Wow, I am so sorry for waiting so long to post this… I've had so much going on in my life and this got put on the backburner. It's been a rough few months, but I figured maybe writing would somehow be therapeutic, so let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks for everybody who's following this story!

 **Chapter 6**

"Reid, man – you gotta eat", Morgan said, pushing a sandwich in his direction. JJ had picked up food for the team while they were working on the possible connections between the five women. Reid just stared at the foil-wrapped sandwich and grimaced in disgust. Morgan sighed and looked at Reid with worry in his eyes. "I know you're not hungry, but you're not going to help your sister any if you collapse because you haven't been eating. I know your sister, and I know that despite everything happening right now, she would want you to be taking care of yourself."

Reid just nodded slightly, lost in thought. He could feel himself slipping through the cracks. The cravings were becoming unbearable. He felt completely useless because he couldn't get himself to think straight - he knew that if he could clear his head, if he could just have a couple hours to _think_ , he could solve this case and bring his sister home safe and bring peace of mind to the other four victims' families. His hands shook all the time now and he kept dropping things, fumbling with files… Hell, he could barely put his tie on at all in the morning anymore. Reid was falling apart at the seams. Reid had kept a very well- hidden stash of Dilaudid, just in case – he never really understood why until this very moment. If he could shoot up just once, he could clear his head… _No. Liv and Morgan would kill you… But if you don't solve this case, you'll never see Liv again._

 _I need it... I need it... I need it…_

"C'mon Reid, do it for Liv," Morgan reasoned, pushing the food closer to Reid and pulling Reid out of the internal battle within his own head. Deep down, Morgan was drowning in worry for his friend. The more he watched Reid, the more he was reminded of Reid going through his most recent bout of withdrawals – the disheveled appearance, the shaking hands, the tired look in his eyes.

Morgan wasn't sure how long Reid would be able to hold out and he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it if he lost his sister. Reid was looking really sick and he knew that Reid wouldn't slow down until they solved the case. As much as Morgan was trying to suppress the worry that weighed down on him, it continually crept up on him time and time again along with a sense of panic, as Morgan had no idea how to help Reid through this.

Reid finally began pulling at the foil that was wrapped around the sandwich and every couple minutes or so, he would take a small bite of it. He looked as if every bite was a battle for him. After a while, Reid excused himself quietly from the debriefing and found his way to the bathroom.

Reid found the bathroom empty when he arrived and his hands shook so badly that it took him a good minute to lock the door behind him. He was out of breath at this time and he desperately willed his throbbing headache to ease. He collapsed in front of the toilet and lost what little food Morgan had forced him to eat. By the end, he was left dry heaving and sweating profusely.

 _I need it…_

Just once. To save his sister. Reid never ever told his sister or Morgan that he secretly still had a bottle left of Dilaudid. He kept it in a very safe place – and until now it had served as a reminder of his strength. That he could live in his apartment day after day, sober, despite constantly being in the company of the source of his addiction.

For a while, Reid sat there, contemplating his options. Finally, his mind made up, he shakily pushed himself from the bathroom floor. He threw some water on his face and dried it with some paper towels. He went back into the conference room and grabbed his bag.

 _I'm doing this for her…_

"Reid, are you alright?" Hotch looked on with concern.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. I just need to get some air for a while – clear my head if that's okay. I need to look at this case with a fresh perspective," Reid talked quietly, avoiding eye contact with Hotch.

"Of course – take the time you need to, Reid," Hotch said, not missing the look in Reid's eyes. He wasn't quite sure what the look was, but it raised a red flag in the back of Hotch's mind.

Reid turned his back to the rest of the team and headed out the door, already lost in thought. Now that his mind was made up, his veins screamed for the drug they had been deprived of for months.

 _Just this once… To find Liv._

Before he was even aware of it, he was inside of his apartment, to his secret hiding spot, feeling the bottle and the syringe in his hand. Reid's heart was already racing. He was desperate – he couldn't live like this anymore – he needed clarity… And Dilaudid gave him clarity. He found it funny that he was sicker without the drugs than with them.

Reid sat on the floor of his bathroom, his back leaning against the tub. He rolled his dress shirt sleeve up over his elbow. At this point, Reid's hands were shaking so violently, he almost couldn't tie the tourniquet around his arm. Pulling it tight with his teeth after some difficulty, he finally had it to satisfaction. Reid could barely think straight at this point. His body took over, going through the motions it was so familiar with already.

He pulled the syringe out of its package, stuck the needle inside the bottle, and began pulling the plunger back, seeing the clear liquid filling the barrel of the syringe. Reid pulled back not to the amount that he should have now, but the amount he had been taking right before he called it quits. He knew this was more than enough to clear his head, that the tolerance he had built up before was gone now, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. He just needed relief. A lot of relief.

Lost in his own world, Reid tapped the syringe to get rid of any air bubbles and mentally prepared himself for the upcoming euphoria that his body had been screaming for. His head was ready to split, and he wasn't going waste time. He steadied the syringe against the inner crook of his arm.

Just as he went to push the needle in, a forceful hand pulled on his arm that held the syringe. He looked up to see Morgan kneeling next to him, holding onto Reid's forearm with one hand, and grabbing the syringe from Reid's hand with the other.

He hadn't even heard Morgan come into the apartment. Morgan didn't even try to say anything – didn't try to scold him, didn't even shake his head at Reid. He quietly emptied the syringe and stuck the bottle into his own pocket.

And with that, Reid's heart sank, his hopes of finding his sister deflated, and he finally let all the stress that had been building inside of him for weeks overwhelm him. He sat on the floor of his bathroom while the tears began to flow uncontrollably from his eyes, and he knew that he had officially hit rock bottom.

"Please"

Through the tears, Reid found himself begging Morgan for the syringe back – for the drugs back. Every word that spilled out of his mouth proved to Reid that he was as low as he could get: so pitiful that he was begging his friend to give him his drugs back so he could escape. But he found that no matter how hard that he tried, Reid couldn't stop.

"Please… I-I need it."

Reid was breaking Morgan's heart. Morgan looked on as he watched his friend sitting on the floor of his bathroom, crying hysterically, desperate for something that would relieve him of his pain. But Morgan knew that the relief was temporary, that it would cause him even more pain in the long run – and he cared too much about Reid to let that happen. He had seen right through Reid's bullshit "I need some air" excuse to Hotch. They all saw right through it, but only Morgan had any idea what Reid was really up to. Morgan didn't know where Reid had gotten this stash, but he was secretly hoping that this was all there was. He knew just how desperate Reid was, but Morgan couldn't let him find it this way. He had worked way too hard to throw that progress away.

Morgan sat with Reid on the floor of that bathroom for some time, a hand on Reid's shoulder that shook with every sob. He could see Reid's logic, and Morgan wished that Reid could have the clarity that he desired – it would really help the case, but Reid would have to find it another way.

Reid finally tired himself out, and as he sat there with Morgan, a seriousness settled in his chest. The tears stopped flowing, but his face was still wet with them. Reid stared straight on, lost in his own mind.

"We won't find her alive," Reid said quietly.

"Reid, don't you dare say that. Don't give up on me like that. Don't give up on your sister like that," Morgan lectured. "Look at me," he said. Slowly, Reid made eye contact with Morgan.

"You are going to clean yourself up, shake yourself off, and we're going to solve this case and we will bring your sister home alive and safe. I know how awful this is for you and if I were in your shoes, I would have been so far gone but you're so much stronger than I am. You're stronger than all of us are and I need you to remember that. You don't need drugs to figure this case out. You will get through this, but you have to believe it yourself."

"I'm just so… tired."

"I know Kid, I know." And with that, the two sat for a while in silence, both picturing the road ahead of what might be. They had five victims and no connection, no leads. They were screwed unless they stumbled upon a miracle.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Footsteps.

He's coming.

Olivia took a deep breath, trying to level her anxiety. Her head pounded… She vividly remembered what had happened to land her where she was now.

 _She had been awake, lying in bed – thinking about her brother. Then she had this feeling, call it a sixth sense, that she wasn't alone. She couldn't quite explain it, but those chills that ran up her spine – she learned to trust them. Her gut instinct was almost never wrong. Olivia had thought she heard something, but it was pitch black in the room so her eyes couldn't confirm what her ears were telling her._

 _Just as she went to make a move to turn on the light, someone slammed her back down on her bed. He was strong – very strong. Olivia may be a "typical female", thin and small, but she was deceivingly strong. But even she didn't stand a chance against her attacker._

 _She didn't even have a chance to fight back as the man in her bedroom put all his weight on top of her, holding her arms down with his knees. Olivia violently kicked her legs to no avail, and fought to get her arms out from underneath._

 _She tried to scream – she's not sure why, because nobody would hear her even if she did. She was quickly silenced by a swift and powerful slap to her face. Her cheek stung and her eyes started to water as a cloth was forcefully shoved into her mouth. This man had complete control over her, and she was quickly coming to see that she would not be able to get herself out of this._

 _He pushed her head down onto the bed, and she was forced to look at the empty space on her bed where her husband should have been – always was except for this past week. This couldn't have been a coincidence, she thought absentmindedly._

 _Just then, she felt a sharp and sudden pain in her upper arm. Her world started to get hazy, and she knew what must have happened. She could only imagine what it was that was just injected into her, because it was strong. Within seconds, she was unconscious, but before she was completely out, she vaguely remembered him leaning toward her, whispering in her ear._

 _"_ _You belong to me."_

Olivia had awoken on a dirty and damp mattress, in almost complete darkness. Her hands were tightly tied behind her back and she still felt the cloth in her mouth, held there by a gag. She tried to sit up, and she felt a wave of nausea hit her – evidently a side effect of whatever drug she was on. Initially, she panicked. She fought at the binding around her hands. Olivia couldn't move very much, as the binding was also wrapped around what must have been a pipe in the wall. When she finally exhausted herself, Olivia finally had a chance to stop and think.

She couldn't lose her cool – she knew it wouldn't take very long for people to realize she had gone missing. Olivia thought about Spence – what would happen when he found out. She felt a wave of guilt, but then realized that he would be the only one that would be able to find her. Olivia kept that hope in her mind – she knew she couldn't lose hope. She had no idea what this guy had in mind for her, but she knew it couldn't be good. Olivia tried to remember everything her brother had ever told her about one-on-ones with serial killers and hostage takers. She knew there were effective ways of dealing with psychopaths, and maybe if she got the chance, she could talk him into letting her go. Maybe she could give him what she wanted and fight him off if he untied her.

He came down the stairs, and she refused to look up. Olivia focused her eyes on the cement ground. She tried not to shiver but it was cold down here and his very presence chilled her to the bone. He kneeled down so he was face to face with her, every move he made was slow and calculated. He made the move to pull the cloth out of her mouth, and Olivia realized she had been holding her breath.

"Look at me," he said. Olivia took a deep breath and tried to raise her eyes to meet those of her captor. It was still dark in the room, and she could only make out the contours of his face. Not to mention, she was still a bit dazed from the drugs.

"Tell me you love me," he whispered.

Olivia froze. _Great... This guy is delusional._ If this situation weren't so serious, she would have rolled her eyes right then and there. There would be no reasoning with him. She knew what she had to do, what it would take to hold out as long as possible. Olivia was determined to hold on to the hope that her brother would find her – and she would do her best to buy him as much time to do it.

"I-I love you," she said shakily. "I love you," she reiterated, with more assertion.

It took him a second, and Olivia worried she wasn't convincing enough. Then, slowly but surely, the man's mouth curled into a smile. As more time passed, her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Something was bothering Olivia – something about this man looked familiar.

She knew who this man was, she'd met him before. _But where?_

"I love you too," he said, smiling. And he leaned forward, cupping her chin with his hand, and kissed Olivia on the forehead.

"You belong to me and only to me, you know that," he said, holding her head level with his with his hand still holding her chin up.

He looked at her, as if expecting an answer. Unsure of exactly what to say, Olivia figured it was best to just agree. This guy was strong and judging by how hard he had hit her across the face before, she could guess that he might have anger issues. If she wanted to survive, the last thing she wanted to do was say the wrong thing and piss him off.

Looking into his eyes, Olivia repeated, "I belong to you and only to you... I love you."

"Well let's reiterate what we already know," Morgan said, standing up. "Look at these five women – all beautiful, all brunette, green eyes, athletic – very similar features. They most likely represent a female figure who wronged him in some way, either a mother or a spouse or even a crush who rejected him. He's probably been stalking them. It's highly unlikely that the women knew him at all – he's most likely an average looking guy that nobody remembers when they see or talk to him. That's how he's able to get around without suspicion."

"But these women live completely different lives. How is he finding them?" Hotch questioned.

"They've probably all intersected somewhere along the way," Reid spoke up. "You'd have to track their spending, the places that they frequent, which Garcia is already working on now. He might work there or frequent those places too. He has to kidnap these women in the middle of the night, which means he's not socially adequate or confident enough to woo these women in public and get them to come with him willingly. He has to blitz attack them."

"All of the victims were found with deep bruises across their bodies – he's angry. He feels wronged by them somehow. He may be dissociating from reality and actually believe that these women are the same one that wronged him in the past," JJ thinks aloud. "They're surrogates for the one who hurt him. He's building up the confidence to pursue his end game. It seems as though the rejection is fresh – that's probably what triggered the killings."

"The last woman was found with bruises on her postmortem," Rossi points out. "He may be devolving. He'll make a mistake soon enough. He's getting too emotionally involved in his kills."

"He'll make a mistake?" Reid questions, "We won't know that until he dumps the next body, and I'm not waiting around that long to find him because that body would be my sister's."

"Reid, I didn't mean it like that," Rossi defended.

"I know… Sorry," Reid shies away and then tries to change the subject. He rubbed his forehead, his head pounding. "We don't know how he's finding them, but it's clear that none of the victims knew him personally, or if they did, they didn't even realize it – he might be the janitor for some place that the women frequent. He probably has a job that doesn't give him the power or the respect that he desires."

"Wait, how do we know that these women are just surrogates? What if they rejected him in some way and now he's seeking revenge?" JJ asked.

"No that's not it," Hotch thought about it. "He would have other victims too – blonde, older, younger. I don't think these victims ever even talked to him. Like Reid said, he doesn't have the charm or the confidence to approach these women in a public setting. Most likely, they remind him of someone, he stalks them and then he abducts them in the middle of the night."

"I think we're ready to deliver the profile," Rossi says, standing up from the conference table.

He was sitting watching television after a long day of work.

He just happened to switch on the news – he didn't enjoy the news at all, but something had caught his eye before he flipped the channel.

A stern-looking man who was looking straight into the camera. His eyes so intense that it felt as though someone were staring directly into his soul.

The caption underneath identified this man as SSA Aaron Hotchner, the Unit Chief of something called the BAU. Agent Hotchner was educating the public on the newest development of some serial case. He stopped, holding the remote in his hands.

 _They're talking about me._

 _Socially inadequate? A loner? Rejected?_

Rage fueled inside of him – how could they speak about him like this? After all, _he_ had done nothing wrong. _She_ did. This was all _her_ fault. He stormed downstairs.

Olivia had no idea how much time had passed. This constant darkness made her wonder whether it had been one day or five. He made frequent visits to see her, mostly the same thing happened. She had a bad feeling that this wasn't all he was after – it was like the eerie calm before the storm.

Sure enough, as if in response to her silent wonderings, he came downstairs – his footsteps at a much faster pace than usual.

"How could you do this to me?" he growled, getting even with her eye to eye. Suddenly, he turned and backhanded Olivia across the face. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her down on the mattress. When he pulled her back up into a sitting position, Olivia could feel his rage emanating from him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Olivia said frantically. Her mind panicked despite her best efforts.

" _Him_. You picked _him._ It makes me sick," he said angrily, hitting her again.

"You know you belong to me," he said, pushing her violently down onto the mattress...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

AN: So I _hope_ you're enjoying the story. I would love to know what you think… If you like where this is going, don't like where it's going. Your opinions have a pretty good influence on how the rest of the story plays out :)

After sending law enforcement out with their profile, the team reconvened in the conference room to discuss what they could be doing. They had about eight days before they wound up with another dead woman on their hands. While they had a profile, they had zero leads so far.

"The only hope we have of finding a connection is finding out exactly where he met these women," Reid said. "We profiled that he's competent enough to hold down a job, which means that's most likely where he met them. It's not going to be as easy as some high-class establishment – it's going to be a place probably with a lot of workers or somewhere easy to blend into the background… Somewhere that workers aren't really noticed. We'll have to rule out places like the grocery store first. All these women lived not too far from each other and all probably frequented the same food stores."

"That's good. Why don't we check in with Garcia and see if she's found anything yet" Hotch said. "Grocery stores and retail stores are made up of menial jobs. It's probable that he works in one of those places." Hotch began dialing Garcia.

"Cyber Genius at your service. How may I serve you today?" Garcia answered, her hands already hovering over her keyboard.

"Garcia I know you've pulled up all of these women's spending records. Tell me where they frequented… Grocery stores, retail stores, coffee shops – anything you can find. We need to know if they overlap somewhere."

"It's a lot of information to sort through, I've been working on it and have so far come up short," Garcia said.

"I know. And Garcia, I also want the GPS trackers on all five of the women's cars and phones. They should all intersect at some point," Hotch said, secretly praying that they did but knowing that there was the potential that they would be back to square one once again if Garcia couldn't find a common location among all the women.

"Already on it, Boss Man. I'll call you as soon as I get something. Over and out", and with the click of the phone, Garcia was on a cyber mission. Hotch sighed, and looked at the board. They were out of options. The man who had abducted all of these women had to live or work somewhere where all of these women had been. The GPS trackers were the team's only hope of finding the man and Reid's only hope of potentially finding his sister alive.

The team had been sitting in the conference room for hours, sorting through all the information that Garcia had sent them. So far, there was no obvious overlap between all of them, which was excruciatingly frustrating.

All the women had some kind of connection with another, a common store frequented by two or three of the women, but not all of them.

"Unfortunately, this is all that we have, so why don't we run with it and see where it takes us," Hotch broke the silence. Hotch stood in front of the corkboard that had all five women's pictures up at the top. "Rachael Williams, Anna Wollack, Marisa Clearwaters, Jennifer Mayson, and Olivia Haywood. Anna and Olivia frequented the Hampton Bookstore on Vinton Street. Jennifer and Anna also used the same dry cleaning service. Granted, the GPS only showed Anna going there once, but it only takes one time for the Unsub to want her as his next victim."

"And we still have nothing on Rachael and Marisa? Do you think that's a coincidence?" JJ asked.

"This Unsub plans, he's competent. While he's attracted to women of similar physical appearance, I think he smart enough to only go after those with no personal connection to him and he'll stalk them, learn their habits. He'd know that women with similar routines as other victims would be too obvious of a pattern for us to figure him out. Nothing too risky for him. JJ and I will head to the dry-cleaning service. Rossi – I want you to go back and interview the significant others of these women again – maybe we missed something obvious. Morgan and Reid, you two go to the bookstore and check things out. This is all we have to go on"

With that, they all headed their separate ways. Reid didn't talk the entire car ride to the bookstore, between his racing thoughts and his pounding migraine, and Morgan didn't push him either. They opened the door to the bookstore and we surprised by how small it was.

Reid looked around, and found himself smiling. This bookstore was small, but perfect. The walls were lined with books with a nice sitting area to read. Comfortable. This had Liv written all over it.

There was no way the Unsub found all five women in _this_ place.

"Is there anything I can help you with, gentlemen?" a voice broke through the silence of the quaint little store.

"Hey," Morgan said, turning around to see one of the workers approaching the two of them. "I'm SSA Derek Morgan and this is Doctor Spencer Reid – we're with the FBI."

"The FBI? Seriously?"

"Seriously," Morgan's tone lightened, sizing up the individual standing in front of him. It didn't seem like fear in this guy's eyes, but more like complete fascination. When it came to questioning people, Morgan found it was usually one or the other, regardless of whether or not someone had something to hide.

The man stood about as tall as Morgan, aged mid to upper twenties, blonde haired, blue-eyed.

"Um, my name is Christopher. What can I do for you?" He reached out and shook Morgan's hand and politely nodded in Reid's direction once Reid quietly denied him the handshake.

"How well do you know the customers that come into the store?" Morgan asked.

"Depends. I know a lot of the regulars. Every so often, a new person will pop in here now and again."

"Do you recognize this woman?" Morgan asked, handing him a picture of Olivia.

After staring at the picture for a good few seconds, Christopher looked up, "yeah she's one of the regulars. She keeps to herself when she comes in but she's friendly. Reads _a lot_ ," he laughed.

"Did you ever talk with her?" Reid questioned. He was looking at Christopher, but suddenly his vision began to go hazy. Reid looked down, and tried to rub the blurriness out of his eyes. In a few seconds, his vision cleared, and it seemed to go unnoticed by the present company.

"Like I said, she keeps to herself. She doesn't really talk to anyone. I may have exchanged a word here and there when she comes up to check out, but that's it… Wait, why do you ask? Did something happen to her?" Christopher suddenly looked uncertain.

"She's missing," was all Morgan said.

"Missing? Oh jeez. That's awful, I hope she's okay. If you don't mind my asking, but what does this bookstore have to do with her being missing?"

"We're just trying to cover all of the bases. Hit all the places she frequented, and see if anybody has noticed anything out of the ordinary. Did you ever see a guy come in here, maybe someone who was a little unsettling? Paid a little too much attention to the females in this place?" Morgan asked. He didn't want to make it seem like he and Reid were checking Christopher out as a potential suspect, so he kept the conversation focused on other aspects. In the back of his mind, Morgan noted the innocent fascination Christopher seemed to possess, and would cross him off the list of potential suspects in a few minutes' time.

Christopher stopped and thought, slowly shaking his head. "Not too many men come around these parts – most of our customers are female. Not really sure why, but that's just how it is."

"Christopher, do you recognize this woman?" Morgan asked, handing him the picture of Anna.

He studied the photograph, and shook his head no. "I don't know her. Why? Is she missing too?"

"She's dead," Reid said bluntly. "Anything you might remember could help us."

"You think it's the same guy? Is that woman you showed me before going to be the next victim?"

"If you could stop asking questions and continue answering ours, that would be great," Reid snapped.

"Reid," Morgan said sharply, looking in Reid's direction.

"Sorry, I just – Excuse me," Reid said, giving himself distance from the conversation and walking down one of the aisles instead.

"Is he alright?" Christopher asked.

"Olivia, the one you recognized – she's his sister," Morgan said quietly.

Surprise flickered in Christopher's eyes. He blinked it away and looked at Reid, who was scanning titles further down, "Dude seriously? Oh man, I'm so sorry-"

"Hey don't sweat it, it's not like you knew," Morgan said.

He and Morgan continued to talk, but to no avail. Christopher couldn't come up with anything useful, and neither had his coworkers or boss. JJ had called them and let them know that she and Hotch had also come up empty handed at the dry cleaners. They left more frustrated than they were before, despite knowing the bookstore was a long shot to begin with.

The team had come back to Quantico, back to the round-table room. Reid couldn't bear to sit there any longer – it was suffocating him. His team had once again grabbed food and were sitting around the table, brainstorming. Reid tried to hide the fact that he couldn't even manage to choke down a bite of the food in front of him. He was pretty sure he would throw up right then and there if he ate anything.

His headache had become a full-blown migraine and if Reid didn't know any better, he would think he was actually dying. He quietly excused himself from the room, mumbling something about having to go to the bathroom.

Morgan peeked out of the conference room window just to make sure that was actually where Reid was headed. Morgan had already secretly gone through all of Reid's stuff the night before to make sure that he had no more drugs hidden somewhere. He hated thinking of Reid as an addict, hated not being able to trust him to even make a trip to the bathroom alone. Addicts were manipulative and sneaky and liars, and as much as Morgan didn't see Reid as such, he knew that he would be stupid if he didn't take the proper precautions to protect Reid from himself. Because as much as he didn't want to admit it, Reid had the habit of lying and manipulating and being sneaky when it came to Dilaudid.

 _But that's what happens when you're an addict._

Morgan sighed and pulled himself back to reality, not wanting to think of his best friend anymore as an addict. However, as minutes continued to pass, he began to worry about Reid. Looking up from his files, he saw Hotch already looking at him. Morgan got up from the table and headed toward the bathroom.

When he opened the bathroom door, he heard the sink running. He turned the corner to see Reid leaning over the sink, washing his face and rinsing out his mouth. He steadied himself against the sink, staring off. Morgan took a second to really let Reid's appearance sink in – the watery eyes no doubt caused by a recent bout of sickness, the ragged, uneven breathing, his hands shaking against the sink.

"Reid, man, come on," Morgan said, motioning for Reid to follow him. When Reid didn't follow, Morgan turned around and took a harder look at him. For the past few seconds, Reid had been staring at the same spot on the counter, unblinking, eyes glazed over.

What Morgan didn't know was that Reid never even heard what he had said. He had heard the door open when his vision violently blurred. He held onto the edges of the sink to steady himself, hoping it would pass – it kept happening to him. The lightheadedness, the dizziness, the blurred vision…

" _Reid_ ," Morgan said, putting his hand on Reid's shoulder. Reid blinked hard, trying to shake the blurriness out of his eyes. He tried to apologize but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Morgan could see that Reid wasn't all there, and he wasn't quite sure what to do.

Reid was finally able to whisper something that Morgan couldn't quite hear.

"What did you say?" Morgan asked, face to face with Reid, still holding onto Reid's shoulder as if to keep him steady.

"I just need a minute," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Reid, you had like ten minutes. I half-expected to find you in here passed out… Which looks like it still might happen," Morgan said uncertainly.

"Is everything okay?" Both Reid and Morgan looked up to find John standing in front of them. Reid was just beginning to come back to his senses, his vision clearing.

"John, what are you doing here?" Morgan asked.

"I just came by to see if there were any leads… If there was anything I could help with," John said, dejectedly. Morgan's heart sunk – he was so worried about Reid that he didn't even really stop to consider how difficult this was for John. While Morgan was getting to know Olivia, he had also gotten to John extremely well. Morgan really respected him, respected how, like Morgan, John had grown to see Reid as a little brother. He was a good man, in Morgan's eyes.

"No, John. There's nothing new, nothing to help with. I'll call you if there's anything," Reid said quietly, slowly.

"Actually, _Hotch_ will call you if there's anything new. I'm gonna take Reid home for the night," Morgan said.

"Morgan, what?" Reid said, snapping out of his previous daze. He was _not_ going home.

"What's wrong?" John asked, looking between the two men for answers.

"Reid's not feeling too well," Morgan said, making eye contact with John. John nodded, knowing very well what the situation was with his brother-in-law.

"Morgan, I'm not leaving," Reid protested.

"It wasn't a suggestion, Reid," Morgan said. "Either you go home, and you rest, or I'll get Hotch to take you off the case."

Reid shot him a look that screamed betrayal. He couldn't believe Morgan was threatening him with that – he _had_ to be on the case. One look again at Morgan told Reid that it was an empty threat. Morgan wouldn't dare get him taken off the case.

"Come on, Spence. You heard Morgan – just for the night. Better yet, why don't I just take you? That way Morgan can keep working and I'll keep an eye on you," John offered.

"I don't need a babysitter," Reid snapped. "If you're so afraid of what I might do, then I'll just come out and say it," Reid continued looking at Morgan, "you took the last of it. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I don't need someone to watch over me every damn second of the day."

"Reid, it's not that we're afraid of what you might do. You're sick, and we just want to help you out," Morgan started.

"No, I don't want your help. And I don't want John's help. I don't need it," Reid said, pushing past the two men and heading back toward the round table room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **AN: Thank you so much to the people who reviewed! I love hearing people say they're enjoying the story, and as I'm very well aware, it's really difficult to make people like OCs, so I loved hearing that some of you liked mine! There's not too much happening in this chapter, but I promise to update really soon!**

John and Morgan watched as Reid left the bathroom.

"I thought he got over pushing people away," John said, his accent more pronounced whenever he got upset.

"Yeah, well I thought so too, but I guess not," Morgan said slowly. Then, looking up at John he goes, "How did you know to look for us in the bathroom anyways?"

John laughed. "Well I went into your conference room looking for you and Reid, and Hotch told me that you guys were in here and maybe it was better to talk to you guys about what was going on, but I see why he really sent me in here now." He paused, "I thought it was strange too."

Morgan just nodded, so John continued, "Is it bad that I'm almost less worried about Liv than I am about him?" He asked, gesturing in the direction of the closed door. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sick to my stomach about it all. Every time I close my eyes, I'm imagining what must be happening to her… But that's just it. I'm not with her, I don't _know_. Meanwhile I'm sitting here, and I'm watching him fall apart. Not to mention, I know that if there's any chance of finding her, you guys are her best chance. I know that everything that can be done for her, is being done. I'm just afraid we're not going to be able to help him."

"You have no control over what happens or did happen to Olivia. And right now, we're the only ones who _can_ help Reid. It's guilt, because it's something that you feel that you can control," Morgan paused. "I feel it too."

"Morgan," John said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"What if you don't get to Liv in time? What's going to happen to him?" John asked.

Morgan was afraid to answer, but John ended up finishing the thought for the both of them.

"I don't know that he'll make it."

The two men stood there for some time, each lost in their own thoughts, and without another word, they silently decided that it was time to get moving. Morgan went back into the round-table room to continue working and checking in on Reid, and John went back home.

Past 3am, Hotch finally decided to call it quits. They had gotten nowhere and his team was burned out. He told them to come back first thing in the morning, that they were just wasting their time running on fumes.

Everyone headed their respective ways, Reid shaking off Morgan's attempts to stay at his place as well as his offers for Reid to stay at Morgan's.

When Reid finally got home, he dropped his bag by the front door, feeling completely defeated. Exhaustion was an understatement, and Reid was also beginning to experience a tightness in his chest. He figured it was related to what was causing the soreness in his stomach – vomiting aggravated a lot more muscles than people realized.

He began heading toward his bedroom when an all-too familiar dizziness struck him. Reid instinctively reached for the back of the couch, trying to steady himself while his vision blurred and his head began to pound. He tried closing his eyes and willed his heart to stop pounding, failing to catch his breath on top of everything. Reid had broken out in a sweat, and was shaking uncontrollably. Coughing, he tried to force air into his lungs. His inability to take full breaths made him panic, but Reid hoped this episode would pass like all the rest had.

He couldn't help but wish someone was here with him – Liv, John, hell he even wished for Morgan despite the fact that this was the very thing Morgan was trying to prevent and that Reid had snapped at him for.

 _I don't want your help. And I don't want John's help. I don't need it._

Boy, had he been wrong. He knew it as soon as the words had left his mouth, but he couldn't take them back. He was really regretting coming home alone. And despite wanting someone there with him, he highly doubted he would be able to dial anyone's number given his current state.

The pain in his head was so overwhelming that Reid was beginning to lose consciousness. He was losing his ability to think coherent thoughts. Soon enough, Reid's hand slipped from the back of the couch as he passed out onto the floor.

In a couple hours' time, Reid had finally come around. He had been woken up by a strange buzzing in his pocket. Reid realized he was on his back, on the floor behind his couch. Slowly but surely, the memories were coming back to him. His phone stopped buzzing, as he evidently had missed whoever was calling him.

Reid struggled to sit up – he felt like complete shit. If he thought he had been feeling sick before this, he had been dead wrong. He didn't realize it was possible to feel this sick. By the time Reid had finally forced himself into a sitting position, his phone was buzzing again. He was able to reach into his pocket and see that Morgan was calling him.

It was past 7am – he was supposed to be back at work. He silently cursed himself out before picking up the phone.

" _Reid_ , holy shit man. Where are you? I called you like five times." Morgan was saying on the other end of the phone.

"'m sorry Morgan. Jus' overslept," Reid tried to say, accidentally slurring his words – frightening himself at the realization. The words were barely coming out of his mouth.

"Reid, what's wrong?" Morgan had also evidently picked up on it.

"Nothin'," Reid said quietly, rubbing his forehead and desperately tried to force his mind to pick up its pace – something he had never had to struggle with before. He stifled a cough, wincing when he felt his chest wheeze.

"Well, I'm coming to pick you up," Morgan said, hanging up on Reid and not giving him the chance to argue. Reid sat there on the floor for a little while before he made the effort to see if he could stand up. Eventually he was able to pull himself up and, very unsteadily, stand without the assistance of the couch. Slowly, and carefully, Reid made his way to the bathroom to see what the damage was. Looking in the mirror, he couldn't help but think that he actually looked like death warmed over.

 _You're gonna die._ The thought startled Reid.

 _Wouldn't that be so much easier, though?_

 _So much easier than dealing with what was happening right now._ Reid couldn't stop the thoughts in his head.

 _But how?_

 _Relief._

 _But I don't have any._

 _You could always get more…_

 _What a way to go out._

 _Sweet relief to end your suffering._

 _Just give up on everything?_

 _Just give up. It's okay._

 _It'd be so nice._

A rough knock on the door made Reid jump a mile. He tried to shake the thoughts that were running around in his head. They scared him.

He headed to open the door for Morgan.

"Jesus, Reid. You look like you got hit by a truck," he greeted Reid.

"Good morning to you too," Reid rolled his eyes, his voice still rough and raspy.

"Reid, are those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?"

Reid looked down as if to double check what he already knew, "Uh yeah, I fell asleep on my bed last night… Just… passed _right_ out," _Well, at least it's not a complete lie._

"You sure you're up for this?" Morgan asked, already knowing that he wasn't but was going to say otherwise.

"Yeah. I just want it to be over." Reid sighed.

"I know, Kid. So do I," Morgan said as they headed out to the car, not realizing the case wasn't all that Reid was talking about.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **AN:** Oh my gosh, I suck. I have been crazy busy and haven't updated in forever, so to make up for it, I'm just going to be posting a lot of chapters in a short amount of time because, well, I'm sorry. Warning, things got a little dark in this chapter… Oops. Also, feel free to suggest anything that you might want to see in another story.. As this one is getting closer to ending, I'll be looking for new ideas (preferably focused on Reid, with a lot of Morgan)

Every inch of her hurt.

Olivia had no idea what to do at this point – every time the man came downstairs, it was a surprise as to how he was going to treat her. As sick as the whole situation was, she preferred having to tell him she loved him than dealing with what he was doing to her physically the other times. Loving, angry – she could never predict which one he would be each time he entered the room. She was also beyond frustrated at the idea that she knew this guy but even after hours and hours of running through all the possibilities, she was coming up empty.

What she did know was that she was in a lot of pain. Her head was pounding and she wasn't sure if it was because of how many times he had hit her or if it was the drugs he kept giving her. Being the doctor she was, she was constantly assessing herself – she knew she was severely dehydrated and weak. He wasn't giving her enough to sufficiently sustain her, and mixed with the drugs he kept giving her, she figured if he didn't physically kill her first, she wouldn't have much time left anyways.

She knew she was badly bruised but nothing life threatening. Luckily, this guy wasn't a complete idiot – he had hit her so hard before that Olivia was pretty sure he broke her nose, and if he had left the gag in her mouth, she would have asphyxiated herself. However, he had enough common sense to remove the gag once he saw the blood pouring from her nose. Between the physical, mental, and sexual abuse, she wasn't sure how much more she could take. Olivia silently was praying that her brother would find her.

 _I wonder how he's doing._

That thought constantly nagged at her. All she wanted to do was see her brother. It was what kept her going. If anybody was going to find her, it would be him.

She could hear footsteps from above and tried to prepare herself for whatever was about to happen. Olivia closed her eyes and prayed as she heard the door open.

It was day six of their expected ten-day window to find Olivia. They had taken a dinner break; meanwhile, Reid found himself in the bathroom once again. Since he wasn't eating, all he could really do was dry heave at this point – almost nothing was coming up anymore. He was no longer even pretending to be okay in front of the team, to be eating and sleeping like a normal person would be. He didn't have the energy to hide it.

 _You're gonna die._

Reid couldn't stop that thought from entering his head again. It was loud and clear.

 _Wouldn't that be so much easier, though?_

Reid heard the door open and knew without even looking that it was Morgan checking up on him. Reid was sitting on the bathroom floor, his head leaning back against the wall.

 _So much easier than dealing with what was happening right now._

Morgan came over and sat down next to Reid. Reid had his eyes closed and didn't even bother to open them.

"Talk to me, Kid," Morgan said softly.

 _What a way to go out._

"There's nothing to talk about," Reid said flatly.

 _End your suffering._ The voices were getting progressively louder.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Reid. Like you think I'd believe that."

 _Just give up on everything?_

"Please, Morgan. Just leave me alone."

 _Just give up. It's okay._

"Not a chance. We haven't really talked since that night in your apartment. Before Liv went missing, you were honest with me. With her. You talked about what was going on in your head. Don't shut me out, Reid. You know it was helping you to talk, so why stop now? You almost relapsed, you're having nightmares, your sister is _missing_. Don't tell me there's nothing to talk about. You need to talk now more than ever, so talk," Morgan desperately tried to connect with Reid, to get him to finally open back up.

 _It'd be so nice._

"I can't do this anymore," Reid blurted out, tired of the voices in his head. "Just make it stop," he begged. At first, Morgan wasn't really sure what Reid was referring to, so Reid continued. "It's not worth it. None of this is worth it. Stop trying to help me, stop trying to fix me because I can't be fixed," Reid started to get upset, but now he couldn't stop.

"Even if we do find Liv and she's okay, it's not going to fix me. I was ready to relapse before she even went missing. I can't… I can't spend the rest of my life dealing with this. It's not worth it," his voice broke. "Just let me give up," he whispered almost inaudibly, but Morgan heard it all the same. He _felt_ it.

Hearing Reid talk like this scared Morgan more than anything. He'd heard Reid say similar things but that was when he was going through withdrawals – Liv had told him not to think that Reid actually meant those words, that he was just in a lot of pain and it was common for addicts to say those things during withdrawals.

But Reid wasn't on drugs anymore. He wasn't going through withdrawals. This was real now.

"Reid," Morgan chose his words carefully. "More than half of drug users relapse at some point. Many, more than once. But they work through it because they know that things will be okay eventually. Nobody said it was easy, but it most certainly _is_ worth it. And I'm not letting you give up because I know, deep down, that's not what you really want."

"How do you know that?" Reid said quietly.

"Because I know you, Kid. I've seen what you've gone through and you've become a better person because of it. And I know that you're going to get through this too and you're going to look back on this and realize that it's never worth giving up. You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, Reid. Don't let this stop you from seeing that."

"Even if I do get through this, who's to say this doesn't happen again? Who's to say I don't relapse again?"

"Nobody is saying you won't, but that's life. Nobody's saying I won't walk out of my house tomorrow and get struck by lightning. You just don't know. You can't predict what's going to happen, but you have to believe that you won't relapse again. You have to believe that it's going to be okay because that's the only way anybody makes it through life. Maybe you don't see it, Reid, but what's going on in your head right now is all because of your addiction."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"Depression, Reid. Addiction – past and present – it causes depression. All this talk about giving up – that's not you, man. That's not you talking, it's the depression. It's the addiction. And these nightmares are a relapse of your PTSD from your kidnapping. One relapse is causing another. It's messing with your head."

Reid was studying the floor, refusing to make eye contact with Morgan. Morgan continued, "Listen, Reid. Before Liv went missing, she was talking to me about you. She saw what was happening before anybody else saw it. She thought maybe you would benefit from maybe seeing someone," Morgan said.

"I'm not seeing anyone," Reid said firmly.

"Listen, Liv has a lot of good friends who deal specifically with people who struggle with what you struggle with. They could really help you. Reid, you can't expect to get to a better place if you won't accept the help that's going to get you there. Liv and I can only do so much, Kid, but we're not familiar with what you're going through. Liv isn't that kind of doctor and I'm not a doctor at all – we just want you to get the best help possible."

"So you want to pawn me off on someone else…" Reid said calmly, saying it but knowing he didn't really mean what he was saying. Morgan knew it was the relapse talking. A long time ago, Liv explained to Morgan that sometimes, when people were about to relapse, they would try to sabotage their relationships, push everyone away - it often made it easier for them to slip into a relapse when their world was falling apart and they're now alone because they pushed everyone out. They need to sabotage everything around them so they can then sabotage themselves in the end. _A person's subconscious knows that they're relapsing before the person is even aware of it themselves,_ Liv had said. _That's why he snaps at you, why he gets angry. His subconscious is trying to destroy his relationship with you. He doesn't even realize he's doing it._

"I never said that, Kid. Liv and I are going to be there just as much as we were before, but you also need help that we can't give you," Morgan started to say but Reid cut him off.

"Don't make promises you can't keep. Nobody said Liv was coming back," Reid snapped. He didn't know where all this frustration was coming from, but it was spilling from his mouth and he couldn't control it.

Morgan took a second and then decided to dismiss Reid's anger. Another thing Reid hadn't been very aware of was that he had been having mood swings, so Morgan knew Reid didn't necessarily mean the things he said when he snapped at Morgan or Liv on occasion. Morgan knew how to take these things in stride.

"Liv thought about trying to get you to see someone after you relapsed the first time but she didn't think you would go for it and she was hoping to talk you into it this time. She just wants you to be okay, Reid."

Reid sighed, "So do I."

Morgan reached up and squeezed Reid's shoulder. "As long as you promise not to give up on me and accept the help people are willing to offer, I promise you that it will get easier. I promise you that you will make it through this and that one day, you will regret ever even thinking that you wanted to give up."

"How could you possibly promise that?"

"You don't trust me, Kid?" Morgan pressed.

"It's not that…" Reid started.

"So do you promise or not?" Morgan questioned.

After a couple seconds of contemplation, Reid said, "I promise."

"Good," Morgan said. "Why don't we go back in there, and if we don't find this Unsub in the next two hours, I take you back to your apartment so you can get some rest."

Reid was about to protest, but as much as he needed to find his sister, he didn't think he would be of much help if he kept pushing himself. He'd already passed out once and he didn't need to it to happen again, let alone happen in front of people.

Morgan stood up and held out a hand to pull Reid up off the bathroom floor. Morgan gave him a reassuring pat on the back, but then put both of his hands on Reid's shoulders and said, "Now no more of this putting up walls, okay? _Talk to me_ ," Morgan said, shaking Reid's shoulders with each emphasis, forcing a smile out of Reid.

"Okay, okay," Reid said. "I promise."

"Good," Morgan said. "Now let's go find your sister."

It was nearing the two hour mark that Morgan had given Reid and Reid was beyond frustrated at how little they had on this Unsub. No viable connections between victims, no leads, no suspects, no nothing. This guy was a ghost. The room was deathly quiet while everybody was lost in thought. Reid had stood up from his chair to get closer to the board, praying that just by staring at the board a connection would pop up out of nowhere. He knew it wouldn't happen but the team was desperate for clues. _He_ was desperate. The team had started talking again all around him, murmuring facts about the case and reports that other policemen had filed on the previous cases, but Reid couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

There was a strange ringing sensation in his ears that began to drown out the voices next to him. His head continued to pound relentlessly, as it had been for weeks now, but worse. Reid felt his vision start to blur on the edges but he tried to rub his eyes in hopes of regaining clarity. His heart was suddenly beating rapidly, and Reid couldn't think straight anymore. His entire body was suddenly in overdrive – his lungs were pushing for air and all Reid could do was continue to stare blankly at the board with his sister's face all over it.

 _I won't find her alive._

Suddenly, Reid could hear that all the voices in the background were saying the same thing. They were calling his name, but he couldn't pull out of the daze that his mind was in. He recognized that his team was calling for him but the only clear thought he had was

 _I won't find her alive._

And with that, the ringing in his ears stopped and everything got deathly quiet. The room turned sideways and then his world went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN** : Hopefully the chapters will keep coming as quickly as this last one did. I'm also still in the process of deciding what to write next as this story is ending soon… Decisions, decisions…

They all had watched him drop.

Morgan was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital along with all the other team members. He sat replaying that scene in his head, feeling guilty for reasons he didn't quite know. He could hear the conversation in his head he and Reid had had in the bathroom. He couldn't take his eyes off of Reid after that.

The look on Reid's face as soon as he stood up from his chair should have given Morgan a clear indication of what was to happen next. Is that why he felt guilty? All he was able to do was stare at Reid as he collapsed. Morgan had found his feet unable to move until after all was said and done.

They hadn't been able to wake him up. Reid was lying there on the floor of the conference room, and no matter how hard they tried, he wouldn't come back around. The paramedics showed up not long after that, and here they all were now, in the waiting room.

"Spencer Reid?"

The team looked up to see the doctor looking for his family. They all stood and Hotch stepped forward. They were all anxious even though they had a pretty good idea of what was to come even before the doctor spoke. When they had gotten there, Morgan felt obligated to fill the doctor in on the previous drug use and current issues – he knew it was relevant to what had happened to Reid.

"I'm Doctor Walker, I'll be the head doctor in the care of Dr. Reid. It's evident that he was suffering from serious exhaustion and severe stress, as well as some early signs of pneumonia. It seems as though he hasn't slept or eaten sufficiently any time recently and it's taken quite the toll on his body. I've been informed of the current situation with his sister… As well as other extenuating circumstances…"

The doctor glanced in Morgan's direction. "He should be just fine, but he needs his rest. The pneumonia isn't surprising seeing as his immune system was already compromised by the stress and exhaustion. I've put him on IVs to help with the dehydration and also to help get some nutrients into his bloodstream as quickly as possible. I've also put him on antibiotics for the pneumonia and diclofenac, a _non-narcotic_ painkiller," he made sure to emphasize, "as well as a mild sedative. My goal is to make him as comfortable as possible because that's the only way he's going to improve. His body needs to rest because it hasn't been properly taken care of. You can visit him, but he probably won't wake up for a little while longer."

"Thank you, Doctor," Hotch said, shaking the man's hand. The team walked into Reid's hospital room –the only sound being the quiet beeping of the one of the monitors. They all took a moment to take in the scene. Reid was lying on the bed, the head of it slightly elevated, with an IV taped to his right hand and a pulse oximeter on his index finger. He also had a blood pressure monitor cuff around his upper arm and an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth.

Morgan took some time looking his friend up and down and oddly enough, felt a sigh of relief. Reid was finally getting help – at least physically - and he looked so relaxed in that bed as he slept peacefully for the first time in weeks. Morgan knew it was thanks to the medications he was on, but Reid had color in his face that Morgan hadn't seen for some time now.

But now they were down a profiler and the clock was ticking. He took a minute and reminded himself that this is what Reid needs, and it would make the rest of the team try that much harder to find their Unsub.

The team stood there for a few minutes when Hotch finally spoke up, "I know we all want to be here for him, but we have a case to solve. If we really want to help Reid, then we should get back to work and find his sister. I know the last thing we want to do is leave him by himself, so Garcia – why don't you stay here with Reid? The rest of us can head back to the station and start cracking down on this Unsub."

Morgan wanted more than anything to stay with Reid, but he understood why Hotch had decided that Garcia should be the one to stay. Morgan needed to be with the rest of the team, with the evidence laid out in front of him. Besides, Garcia could probably take care of Reid better than he could anyways. And with that, they all departed from the hospital and headed their respective ways.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

 _A low beeping. Someone typing on a computer. Someone breathing loudly. No… Wait. That's you. That's you breathing. Why? What's happening? Where am I?_ Reid was slowly drifting into consciousness, these questions slowly flowing through his mind but he was too tired to try to look for an answer to any of them. With all of the energy he possessed, he forced his eyes open a crack. It took some time because he couldn't muster up more energy to actually focus on anything. His eyes closed again.

"Reid? Are you awake?"

He knew that voice. _Come on, you can do this._ Reid tried a little harder to open his eyes this time. He was looking back at Garcia, who was sitting by his bedside.

His bedside. _Why was he in bed_?

"Hey Reid," Garcia said softly, a smile tugging at her mouth. She put her hand on top of his and held it, stroking her thumb over his hand in a way that made Reid feel safe and calm. But he needed to know where he was. His next step was to talk, but it involved so much energy – energy he didn't have yet. He didn't want to, but he allowed his eyes to close again and he slipped back into the comfort of the darkness of unconsciousness.

A little while later, he awoke again. Unlike the last time, Reid found it much easier to open his eyes. Sitting exactly where she had been the first time he woke up, Garcia was typing away on her laptop by Reid's bed. He tried to say something but nothing came out. His throat was so dry.

She hadn't noticed that he was awake yet. "Garcia," Reid managed to whisper.

"Reid!" she popped up in her seat. "Hey Sweetums, how are you feeling?" It was then that Reid became acutely aware of the oxygen mask on his face and he made the move to push it off.

"Nuh uh, Boy Genius. That stays on," she scolded.

"I can breathe just fine, Garcia. Just give me one minute," he said, still quietly. He slowly pulled the mask off over his head and pushed it to the side of his bed. She must have noticed his discomfort because she got up from her seat and poured a cup of water from the pitcher that was sitting on the tray at the end of the bed. She put a straw in and held it to his mouth, which he gratefully took. The cold water felt so good, but before he was ready to stop, Garcia pulled the straw away which was greeted by a slight whimper from Reid.

"Not so fast, Reid. I'll give you more in a minute," she said softly. "Tell me how you're feeling."

"Tired. Really, really tired." He said, settling his head back down on his pillow.

"As expected. You should really go back to sleep."

"I'm in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital? Where is everybody else? How long have I been out for?" Reid was starting to become agitated at the realizations he was coming to. He started to try to sit up in bed. "What happened? I don't remember coming here. Oh God, Liv. Tell me you found–"

"Woah, Reid," Garcia cut him off. She put her hands on his shoulders and forced him back down onto the bed. "You need to relax. The doctors said you can't get agitated like that, it's not healthy."

"Please tell me what's happening," Reid's mind still wasn't working up to speed, he was still exhausted and it was an effort to take in what Garcia was trying to say to him.

"Reid, we were working on the case and you stood up from your seat and you just collapsed. We couldn't wake you up so you were brought here. The doctor said you were way too stressed and you weren't eating or sleeping or taking care of yourself. They put you on some medication and you have to rest because you're really sick. Everybody else is working on finding Olivia – they still haven't found a connection. You've been out of it for about six hours now," Garcia said carefully.

"…Medication? What kind of medication?" Reid questioned, looking down at his IV, panic rising in his throat. It was then that he realized that he wasn't feeling any pain – the headache he had been plagued with for weeks was mysteriously gone.

"Okay Reid, seriously, you need to relax." He hadn't realized he had started to sit up in bed again until Garcia pushed him back down for a second time, holding both of his hands, afraid that he might try to pull out an IV. "They put you on a non-narcotic painkiller, thanks to Morgan, and a mild sedative to help with the stress but from the looks of you now, I think they should bump that up a bit."

A mild sedative… _Well that explains a lot._ His mind felt like it was underwater. Reid originally thought that the exhaustion was what was slowing his mind down, but whatever they doped him up with turned out to be the real culprit.

"I shouldn't be in bed. My sister is out there with a serial killer and I need to help find her." He tried again to sit up but thanks to Garcia, was unsuccessful.

"Spencer Reid, if you do not lay back down in that bed, you will be very sorry," Garcia pointed her finger at him. Just then, the doctor made his way into the room. He introduced himself to Reid and began to check his vitals. He adjusted the IV bags hanging from the stand, then let Garcia give Reid a few more sips of water.

"Listen, Doctor, I appreciate all this, but I really, really need to get going. I can't stay here," Reid began to try to talk his way out of being in the hospital.

"The hell you can't stay here," Garcia snapped at him.

"She's right, Dr. Reid. You really need to be here – you're not stable enough to leave yet."

"My sister is going to die because I'm sitting here in this bed instead of being out there and looking for her," Reid's agitation was in full force now and both Garcia and the doctor were gently pushing his shoulders down back against the hospital bed. Reid was starting to panic the more he thought about the circumstances and his breathing quickened. He needed to be out of this hospital room – he'd already wasted six whole hours. He was running out of time. He fought to sit up but the room started to tip a little and Reid's heart rate picked up. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Alright Dr. Reid, I need you to take a few deep breaths and relax now. You're okay, everything is going to be just fine but I really need you to calm down. I can't have you stressing out, it's not good for you," Doctor Walker tried unsuccessfully to make Reid calm down again. Reid could see out of the corner of his eye that the doctor was now adjusting one of his IVs again.

Almost instantly, a calmness rushed over Reid and he couldn't remember what had had him so agitated in the first place. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Reid connected the feeling with the increased dose of sedative the doctor had just pushed through his IV. His eyes could no longer focus and he was vaguely aware of someone putting the oxygen mask back over his nose and mouth. Blissfully, he closed his eyes and succumbed once again to the darkness.

CMCMCMCMCMCM

The next time Reid opened his eyes, someone new was sitting beside him.

"John?" he asked groggily.

"Hey bud, how are you feeling?" his brother-in-law questioned.

After a moment of thought, Reid slowly answers, "I feel like I'm on some serious drugs right now…" John laughed. Reid wasn't necessarily wrong – the doctor had significantly increased the amount of sedative after Reid's initial agitation. Just looking at his brother-in-law, he could see just how the drugs were affecting him – Reid's eyes were glazed over and every time he blinked, it was a slow, effortful closing of the eyes that lasted just a tad too long before he willed them to open again.

"Did you find Liv?" Reid asked nonchalantly. "No buddy, not yet. We will," he assured Reid.

"Oh… Okay" Reid said quietly.

John looked at Reid, and could see that Reid was not really all there still, and he was probably too tired and too drugged up to actually be worried about his sister at the moment.

"I need to get out of here." Reid said quietly.

"Not yet Spence," John said with a light pat on Reid's shoulder. "Soon. But for now, why don't you get some more rest? I'll be here when you wake up."

And with that, his exhaustion back in full force, Reid closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Oh. My. Goodness. I think being sorry is an understatement. Thanks to everybody who is sticking with this story (if anyone). Here's a nice long chapter as an apology – school is kicking my ass lately.**

Chapter 12

"Reid, stop that," Morgan said, watching Reid fiddling with anything he could find within reach. He couldn't sit still despite still being on a low dose of sedative. Morgan understood that Reid was extremely anxious and ready to leave the hospital. He'd been there almost two days in total and they were seriously running out of time to find Olivia – they needed Reid back as soon as possible.

He seemed to have improved significantly – he'd spent most of those two days sleeping and eating (well, being essentially force-fed by Garcia) – Reid still didn't have quite an appetite. He was going against doctor's orders and being discharged to help work the case. He and Morgan were waiting for the doctor to come into his room to talk about his "limitations" on what Reid could do, but Reid felt like he was going to waste a bunch of time lecturing him about leaving the hospital before he was healthy enough.

Hotch had agreed to allow Reid to leave the hospital and work the case as long as he followed the doctor's instructions to a T. Finally, to Reid's relief, the doctor strode into the room.

"Alright Dr. Reid, I know your mind is more than made up and you know my opinion on that. I understand that you're leaving to work your case, so I'm going to just lay it out for you. You're still very sick – you may be feeling better, but you're still sick. I'm keeping you on the medication – not enough to impair you in any way, but just to keep you from overstressing again.

"Your friends seem very concerned about you so I expect they'll be good about making sure that you rest and eat properly this time around. And honestly, in your condition, you should be on bed rest for a while until you improve more, but I know _that_ won't happen," the doctor said with a half-joking eye roll, "so when you're working the case, you need to be relaxing and sitting – either on a couch, on a chair, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't be on your feet unless absolutely necessary, so that should go without saying that that means no going out into the field. I want to see you back here in a week."

Per protocol, Reid was escorted out of the hospital in a wheelchair, where he then got into the car with Morgan to drive back to the station. As much as he didn't want the doctor to be right, Reid had to admit that just the short walk from the car to inside the police station had tired him out. Morgan immediately had pushed him into a chair and the team began work at once.

Reid had felt a little funny that he was confined to the chair while everyone else at some time or other had gotten up and walked around or paced. He hated this whole thing and just wanted to act like everything was fine and that he wasn't sick anymore, but one of the very reasons Morgan had stayed in Reid's room while the doctor spoke with him was because the whole team knew that Reid would lie about what the doctor had told him.

The only good thing to come from the whole hospital disaster is that Reid had finally gotten some sleep. His head was clear for the first time in weeks and he felt deep down that this was the breaking point in the case – he was going to find the connection between these women and how they had met their Unsub.

They had 36 hours left before they would find Olivia dead, if the Unsub stuck to his MO. Reid was positive there had to be a correlation somewhere in the women's purchases and location history. There had to be. He was spending countless hours reading through every transaction, drowning in maps of their locations and lines connecting potential correlations.

Marisa had been the most high-risk victim. The only connection that was clear that she had was only with one other victim. Jennifer and Marisa had used the same driving service company multiple times. But that didn't mean anything – so many people used that company nowadays and that didn't explain how their Unsub would have met the other girls. Using the location services and the transaction history, Reid was able to link Olivia and Anna together by the fact that they both frequented the same grocery stores (which they had already ruled out) as well as the same bookstore (which they had also already ruled out). So far, they couldn't find anything at all to link Rachael, the first victim, with anybody.

After some time, Reid seemed startled by his own thoughts and looked up from his pile of files. "What if we're looking at this wrong?"

"What do you mean, Reid?" Morgan asked.

"What if… We've been looking at this backward?" Reid tried to gather his thoughts to explain.

"Backwards?" Hotch gave Reid a sideways look.

"We've been assuming that all of these women resemble someone who rejected or hurt the Unsub, and that in time, he would eventually have to go after her. But what if he already did?"

The conference room got deathly quiet.

"Think about it," Reid continued. "What do we know about killers? Sometimes it's not the last kill that's most personal, sometimes it's –"

"The first," Morgan finished. "Rachael Williams."

"All the women taken don't just look alike… They look like Rachael." Reid said.

"So whoever the Unsub is must be personally connected to her?" JJ asked.

"Most likely."

Hotch was already calling Garcia and putting her on speaker phone.

"Garcia is there any way to tell if Rachael Williams had a past boyfriend before her fiancé?"

"Umm, Facebook says no. Her and her fiancé have been high school sweethearts. Anything before that, I wouldn't know – it wouldn't be on social media because she got a Facebook in 2003, her sophomore year in high school."

"And the fiancé's alibi checked out. He also doesn't fit the profile," Morgan said.

"Yeah but we profiled that the victims didn't know him well – he wasn't personally involved with them. He may have stalked her from a young age. Garcia, check if she ever filed any reports against someone for stalking or harassment back in school," Reid said.

"Nadda."

"This Unsub is good," Morgan said. "He appears harmless. But he has an explosive temper."

"Wait a second…" Reid started to say.

"Reid, what is it?" Rossi turned to him.

"The killing started six weeks ago… Rachael's fiancé said they got engaged about two months ago."

"Alright, so this is _definitely_ about Rachael," Morgan surmised. "She got engaged which triggered his killings, and he probably felt betrayed because in his mind, he was supposed to be with her. Nobody made the connection because within a week, another woman was taken and they started to assume a serial with no personal connection to Rachael."

"Yeah but if he never dated her, how come he didn't kill her when she first started dating this guy?" Garcia piped in over the phone.

Hotch explained, "He's delusional. He couldn't have been happy with her dating Andrew, but he believed that she would come to her senses and end up with the Unsub one day. When she got engaged, it was the ultimate betrayal to him. He was probably deeply obsessed with her and obsession easily turns into rage in killers. He snapped and killed her."

"So why is he still killing? And why is he progressing?"

"He might not be done yet – he killed her and is still angry, so he's finding surrogates to continue his rage and keep punishing her for hurting him. Rachael Williams was also most likely his first kill ever but he also found that he enjoyed it, so he continued. He's realizing his sadistic pleasures and expounding upon them with every kill. The problem is, the postmortem rage is evidence that he's devolving. We need to figure this out quickly because it's just a matter of time before he starts to escalate his kill time."

"Garcia, look into Rachael's past. Think of the homicidal triad - this Unsub most likely had early signs of cruelty to animals or pyromania. He could have also had persistent bedwetting, but that's more difficult to trace. Did Rachael go to school with anybody that was flagged for any of that?"

"Woah, oh jeez there's ten… Can you narrow it down?"

"This Unsub probably had an unstable home life. Do any of them have parents that fought a lot? Maybe went to jail for domestic violence?" Reid asked Garcia.

"Two… Wait wait wait. Hold the phone. One – the other one is in currently serving time in prison for beating his girlfriend."

"Garcia who is it?"

"Christopher Szales. 29 years old, has lived in this city his whole life… More specifically, in the house right next to Rachael Williams' childhood home. The creep probably watched her day and night through the bushes. Ugh. The police were called to look into an animal cruelty case when someone found a beheaded dog but they could never actually prove it was him – he was only seven. His father was a raging alcoholic who repeatedly hit the mother who had enough and ran out when Christopher was just ten."

"She didn't take her son with her?" Morgan asked.

"Maybe she knew what he was capable of," JJ said quietly.

"Garcia, where does he work?"

"Oh no. Um, he works for the bookstore that Olivia and Anna frequented. But here's the thing, he moonlights as a sober driver at night, and give me one second…. Mhm, records show that the other two women did indeed that driving service, and more specifically, him."

"So he had two hunting grounds. That's why we couldn't find him," Morgan said. "Extremely rare, but not unheard of."

"Reid, what's wrong?" JJ was looking at him and he had suddenly gone pale.

"That name… Garcia, send me a picture of him," was all he said.

"Um, okay." The picture came across all of their phones, and Reid did everything in his power not to throw it across the room. He had already known even before he looked at the picture.

"Son of a bitch," Reid said, hitting his hand against the table. "We talked to him when we checked out the bookstore. He had my sister the whole time… He broke into her house and took her and I talked to him and I never thought… I never even considered…"

"Reid, there's no way you could have known. I missed it too," Morgan said. "Garcia ran background checks on all the employees of every place we hit – he had no priors."

"That's why I should have seen it. Christopher looked like the definition of harmless," Reid continued.

"I think he fit it a little too perfectly and that's why we missed it. We also didn't know about the two hunting grounds or his childhood history with Rachael. You couldn't have known," Morgan stated.

"Reid, now is not the time to beat yourself up. What's important now is that we have him and we're going to find your sister and we're going to bring her home," JJ said.

"Garcia, I need an address right now."

"Sending it to your phones right now. He still lives in his childhood home."

"Torturing these women in the very home where all you saw was violence your whole life… That could easily fuel his rage." Rossi said.

"Oh no." Garcia said.

"Baby Girl, what is it?" Morgan questioned.

"He uh, he didn't show up for his shift at the bookstore today."

"Shit," Morgan said under his breath. "He's escalating."

"Let's go everybody." Hotch ordered.

"I'm coming with you. There's no way you can stop me," Reid stood up and looked Hotch in the eye.

Hotch considered his options, and knew that Reid was right. He nodded and the team headed out the door.

He was coming downstairs once again.

Olivia had her head leaning against the cold concrete wall, not having the energy to keep herself upright. It had felt like she had been held in this basement for years… Nobody was coming to find her. As much faith as she had in her brother, she knew that if he hadn't found her yet, he probably never would.

Olivia knew she didn't have much time left – she was so weak and exhausted, in so much pain that she knew her body would give up soon. She wanted out of this misery. Out of this hell on earth.

She hoped her brother could forgive her for giving up on him. Forgive her for what she was about to do that most likely would get herself killed. But she didn't care anymore – she knew she wasn't going to make it out either way.

He reached the bottom of the staircase and approached her. Something was off in his demeanor today. He didn't necessarily look angry, but he definitely wasn't calm.

Agitated. That was it.

He bent down and grabbed Olivia by the hair so he could force her to look into his eyes.

"Why not me?" he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Why Andrew? That piece of scum – how could you choose him over me? You belonged to me, _not_ him," he said, his voice rising.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Olivia said, matching his anger.

"Don't play games with me, Rachael!" He screamed. "I should have known you would be so _stupid._ I tried so hard to get your attention but you were too busy being swept off your feet by Mr. Big Shot. You're so damn shallow," he said, lines of reality beginning to blur as his anger mounted. "You betrayed me."

"Piece of shit," Olivia she muttered.

"Excuse me?" He leaned in closer.

"You're a coward," she said, looking him straight in the eye.

"You ungrateful bitch," he exclaimed, hitting her across the face, knocking her to the ground. "How dare you?"

"You think I don't recognize who you are?" Olivia sneered. She had finally figured it out during one of his softer moments last night. There was a hint of kindness in his eyes and she immediately flashed back to her times in the bookstore. She remembered how quiet he had been, how nice he was most of the time, but she also remembered that one time…

 _Olivia had been sitting in the reading area, completely absorbed in the book her brother had recommended for her._

"Recognize me? It's like you don't know me, Rachael," he questioned.

"I'm not Rachael," she challenged.

 _As she finished the last page, she closed the book and looked up._

She was getting him worked up. Provoking him. The one thing her brother had always said was a death warrant for victims.

 _He had been staring at her._

"You had to wait until you could catch me asleep. Alone in my own house. You couldn't even face me, you coward," she spat at him. "Rachael could never have cared for you. Could have never loved you. _Nobody_ could ever love you."

 _He didn't even break eye contact when she realized he was looking at her._

Christopher had heard more than enough. "You. Belong. To. Me," he said, hitting her in between every word. Olivia was beginning to lose consciousness. She could feel the warmth and wetness of her own blood as it came out of her nose and mouth. He might not have been a big guy, but he was deceivingly strong.

 _He had just kept staring._

Before she knew it, he was on top of her.

 _She had forgotten all about it. Written it off because of all the times he had been kind to her._

On top of her like the night he had taken her. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had no chance of fighting back.

This was it. This was how it was going to end.

He took both of his hands and pushed forcefully down on her throat. Olivia's eyes went to the back of her head as her body jerked, desperate for oxygen.

 _Please don't blame yourself for this, Spence. I love you._

As she was losing consciousness, and her vision was blurring, all Olivia could think about was what she wished she could say to her brother. What she wished he would know when he and his team found her dead body.

She could feel the tears being forced out of her eyes as her body relaxed and she was swallowed into a cold darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The door burst open.

"FBI! Get away from her!" Hotch yelled, as he and his team ran full speed down the basement steps.

But as soon as Christopher had heard the door, he had gotten off of Olivia and, in one swift motion, pulled her into a standing position. He pulled the gun from his back pocket and held it under her chin.

"Not so fast agents," Christopher warned. All their guns were trained on him, but none had a clear shot with him holding Olivia in front of him as a shield.

"Let my sister go," Reid said as Christopher eyed him with recognition.

Her eyes began to flutter open, as she slowly regained consciousness.

The first thing that she saw was her brother standing less than ten feet in front of her, with a gun trained in her direction.

He'd found her.

Reid's concentration was fractured – he was so focused on the Unsub but when he saw his sister open her eyes, Reid felt like he could breathe again for the first time in a week.

It felt so good to see her. But they were far from out of the woods. Olivia also wasn't looking too good – barely conscious, she was bruised and covered in blood.

Olivia began to support her own weight as she woke up, standing up without the help of Christopher, who still had his arm wrapped around her chest and the gun against her head. His grip loosened as he felt her regaining her ability to stand on her own.

"Spence," she whispered.

He looked over at her and their eyes met.

"Christopher, don't do this," Reid begged. "She's not Rachael. She's not the one you want."

"She's mine!" He insisted, pulling Olivia closer.

"Spence. Morgan," she started, looking back and forth between the two.

"Liv it's okay, just relax," Morgan cautioned her.

"It's alright. I know how this goes," Olivia reassured them, trying to stay calm while also trying to catch her breath still. Her voice was raspy and quiet from being almost strangled to death. In the back of her mind, she was surprised that with his force, he hadn't crushed her trachea.

She got questioning looks from all of the team members. "You didn't have to come," she said. "I belong to him. Don't I… Don't I belong to you?" she questioned, turning her face toward her captor.

She could see the flicker in his eyes – the one that showed he was hovering between the lines of reality and delusion. She didn't have to be a profiler to know he was in the midst of a complete psychotic break.

The team stood still, unsure of what was transpiring in front of them. For a split second, Morgan actually considered whether or not Olivia had suffered from a mental break of her own.

Christopher began nodding his head, evidently getting caught up in his fantasies. His delusions were becoming too strong to deny, and any confirmation of his fantasies was enough to drown out his anger from merely minutes ago. The team could see him struggling with his thoughts.

"Do you expect me to believe you now? After what you said…"

"How could you not trust me? I trust you… I was angry that you didn't believe me all those other times I told you," she said.

"But what about Andrew?" he said. "How could you?" He tightened his grip a bit more on her, and Liv shuddered.

"I got rid of him," she breathed. "He's gone. You're the one I want," she claimed, almost gagging on her own words. Olivia could tell she had him where she needed him.

"Then why are _they_ here?' he gestured toward the team.

"They don't understand what we have. I can make them go away if you want. You can have me once they leave," Olivia bargained. "They won't bother us again."

He was too far gone to think rationally and Olivia was taking advantage of it.

She could see how he was contemplating the idea.

"Spence, it's time for you guys to go home. You don't need to be here," she looked him in the eye. Reid was trying to read her, but he was coming up empty.

"You and Morgan have done enough for me. I don't need you here anymore," Olivia had Christopher where she needed him. Now she just needed to get Reid and Morgan on the same page as her.

"You heard her, agents. Go on," Christopher said, nodding in the direction of the stairs.

"Wait," Olivia said. "I just need to say something. My brother needs to know. Spence… Remember that day that I spent with you and Morgan? Back in the springtime? Out in the field by the tracks?"

Reid and Morgan stared at her, remembering that day well. They were teaching her self-defense. Morgan had been the Unsub, and was demonstrating to her how to break out of his grasp.

"I remember the first thing you guys taught me," she smiled.

Christopher was getting impatient, "Enough is enough. Make them go," he whispered in her ear angrily.

 _"_ _Alright, let's start off with the easiest, most effective way to get out of someone's hold," Morgan said. "So easy, yet the perp never expects it."_

 _Reid had been sitting on the bench watching Morgan teach Liv. Liv had asked Morgan for self-defense help – she'd always wanted to learn and now she had the perfect teachers._

 _"_ _Alright, what is it?" Liv asked._

 _"_ _Dead weight. When they got you in a hold, when they're most vulnerable, make yourself dead weight. Chances are, they won't have a tight enough grasp and won't be ready to catch you when you go down. They're not anticipating you to drop like a sack of bricks."_

"I remember. Don't you?" Liv said, maintaining eye contact between her brother and Morgan. Morgan's eyes lightened as the memory flashed back to him just in time. Just then, she let her legs give out underneath her as she threw all her force straight down. Down to the floor, slipping through Christopher's grasp. She hadn't even hit the ground yet before she heard two shots being fired.

Because Reid and Morgan were the only two who now knew where she was going with her story, they were ready to fire the shot when Olivia dropped. They had hit him straight in the chest, and Christopher dropped straight to the floor.

Reid was the first to his sister, breaking down in tears as he hugged his sister. Liv was not far behind him with the tears and they stayed like that until the paramedics took over and began their work on assessing her injuries. Reid didn't want to let her go, but he felt Morgan's hand on his shoulder.

"It's over, Kid. It's all over." Morgan reassured him.

"Reid, everything is alright now. Olivia is going to be fine, why don't you come sit down with us?" Garcia tried to reason with Reid who had been pacing back and forth for about an hour and a half in the hallway of the hospital where his sister was being checked out by the doctors. His heart still hadn't stopped racing and even though in his head, he understood that she was safe, not being able to see her was giving him overwhelming anxiety. He had just gotten her back and she had been whisked away by the doctors and he wasn't allowed to see her until they were finished.

Reid couldn't sit down – his adrenaline wouldn't stop pumping through his veins. He paced back and forth, his right hand every so often stimming against his leg in apparent stress. Morgan and Garcia were watching him closely.

He had been on his feet for a long time now – way longer than the doctor would ever allow. He'd also just taken down an Unsub – definitely not something the doctor would be happy about if he knew. _Oops._ They would all probably be in trouble for allowing Reid to do any of that. Ever since Morgan and Garcia had accompanied Reid to the hospital, they were trying to get him to sit down, but each time he refused.

Every so often, he would stop walking when a coughing fit would overtake him. The physical exertion had done a number on his pneumonia, and Reid was secretly having issues taking full breaths again. He figured he could get rest later and it wouldn't be an issue that anybody would have to find out about. Right now, he couldn't think about sitting still.

Reid's thoughts were racing in his head, but despite his body being in overdrive, he could feel just how tired he really was. He had over exerted himself, but he didn't care – he had his sister back. Alive. So why did he still have this tightness in his chest?

"Reid, honey, come sit down," Garcia was sitting next to Morgan in the waiting room, which thankfully, they had to themselves. "You're still sick, you know that."

Just then, it was as if someone had hit Reid in the back of the head with a hammer – his head seemed to split in pain. It took Reid by complete surprise and he didn't have the chance to hide it from his teammates. His hand went straight to his forehead, his face scrunched up in pain, and an exasperated gasp escaped from his mouth. His other hand was against the wall, trying to steady himself.

"Reid! Reid, what's wrong?" Morgan had jumped up immediately and was at Reid's side. Reid weakly tried pushing Morgan away with one arm and attempted to shake him off, "I'm fine… Really… I'm fine," Reid said between breaths. His heart was pounding violently against his chest. Reid was gasping for air – the initial bout of pain had knocked the wind out of him, not helping his pneumonia.

At this point, Reid had his eyes closed and his head felt like it was going to explode. He couldn't even listen to what Morgan and Garcia were trying to say to him. He was in so much pain so suddenly that he couldn't quite stand straight.

Morgan and Garcia were each holding one his arms so that Reid wouldn't take a fall. Reid's thoughts were coming and going, no longer forming fully. He didn't really know what was happening anymore other than the fact that he knew was doubled over in pain and there was no hiding it.

He willed the pain to stop and couldn't control the small whimpers that slipped out every time he exhaled. Garcia was stroking his hair with her other hand and gently talking to him but he couldn't make out what she was saying – he knew she was trying to comfort him. He could vaguely feel Morgan's hand on his chest, trying to keep him from falling forward onto the floor.

Reid was only partially aware that the tightness in his chest was starting to completely restrict his ability to breathe. There was a heaviness weighing on top of his lungs, and Reid couldn't figure out which ailment he should try to focus on more – his inability to breathe or the excruciating pain. Neither was preferable to the other.

He felt Morgan and Garcia gently nudge him, trying to get him to one of the seats. Reid attempted to take a step, but his body wouldn't allow him to. Once again, he was in sudden darkness, free from pain, and he gladly slipped into an all too familiar unconsciousness as felt his legs give out underneath him.


End file.
